Department for Transport

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will ban pavement parking in England.

Trudy Harrison: The Department consulted on measures to address pavement parking and received over 15,000 responses. Ministers are carefully considering the options in the light of the consultation findings. We will publish the formal consultation response and announce next steps as soon as possible.

Northern Trains: Rolling Stock and Staff

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to help increase the (a) rolling stock, (b) guards and (c) drivers on the Northern Rail network.

Wendy Morton: Plans are in place for rolling stock to be cascaded into Northern from other operators over the next two years. In addition, working with the Department as part of its Business Planning Process, Northern is developing a longer term strategy for its future rolling stock and staffing requirements.

Large Goods Vehicles: Dover Port

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of delays at Dover on Scottish hauliers who transport high value, perishable goods long distances and for whom those delays can cause loss of earnings.

Robert Courts: Defra, who hold responsibility for the food sector, has well established ways of working with the food industry to monitor issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains. Our focus has been to work with our Kent Resilience Forum partners to solve the disruption in Kent as quickly as possible to support all hauliers, recognising the work they have done alongside Port of Dover, Eurotunnel and operators to get people moving as quickly as possible under difficult circumstances.

Offshore Industry and Shipping: Pay

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether proposed changes to the Harbour Act 1964 to tackle ferry operators paying below the minimum wage will also apply to (a) those operating in the oil and gas or renewable sectors in the North Sea and (b) other maritime operators.

Robert Courts: The Department for Transport, working with other government departments, is working through the process to introduce legislation to ensure that any ferry operator frequently accessing a UK port pays an equivalent to the national minimum wage (NMW) while in our waters.It is our intent to ensure that all seafarers working on ferries operating internationally out of the UK are paid at least the equivalent of the minimum wage for their time spent in the UK territorial waters and to further strengthen that protection with bilateral agreements with our neighbours to provide ‘minimum wage corridors’ between the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe.As part of this process, we will be launching a public consultation which will seek views on which operators should be within scope of the regulation.The National Minimum Wage (Offshore Employment) Order 2020 extended the provisions of the UK national minimum wage to all seafarers working in the oil and gas industry where that work was undertaken in support of UK activity and within the UK Continental Shelf. The National Minimum Wage Act 1999 does not make explicit reference to the Exclusive Economic Zone and therefore cannot be applied to those working in the offshore renewables sector where that work is beyond the limits of the UK territorial waters.

Driving Instruction: Coronavirus

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of covid-19 restrictions on learner drivers since March 2020.

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans to expand testing capacity at Llanelli Driving Test Centre to tackle the backlog of tests since March 2020.

Trudy Harrison: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) recognises there is a high demand for learners who are wanting to take their practical driving test following the suspension of routine driver training and testing during the pandemic.The DVSA is working hard to provide as many practical driving test appointments as possible and has a number of measures in place to do this.These include:offering a national recovery allowance and annual leave buy back to examiners;asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests;conducting out of hours testing, such as on public holidays and weekends; andasking recently retired driving examiners to return to testing.As of 31 March 2022, driving test waiting times at Llanelli is 3 weeks.The DVSA has a live recruitment campaign covering Llanelli, and has recently completed a campaign to recruit Welsh speaking driving examiners. The DVSA is also launching a new national campaign to recruit an extra 161 examiners across Great Britain to help meet the increasing demand for driving tests. This is in addition to its previous campaign to recruit more than 300 additional examiners.

Aircraft: Sanctions

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of reports that aircraft belonging to sanctioned individuals have continued to use UK airfields.

Robert Courts: Russia’s assault on Ukraine is an unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign democratic state. The UK government has shown there are massive consequences and a severe cost for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In coordination with our international allies and partners, we have developed and continue to expand an unprecedented package of sanctions.Since 25 February Russian aircraft have been banned from entering UK airspace and landing in the UK.  This was strengthened on 8 March with the signing of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. It is now a criminal offence to breach the airspace ban and it has conferred powers on the Secretary of State to direct airport operators to detain Russian aircraft.Since the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 came into effect, we have detained three aircraft, and have held a further two aircraft while thorough investigations are carried out. We continue to work with the aviation industry and other Government departments to rigorously investigate any aircraft that the Department becomes aware of that may be connected with Russia. We will not hesitate to impose further detentions on aircraft connected with sanctioned individuals.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy Bills Rebate

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the energy industry on allowing customers to opt-out of receiving the £200 loan under the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

Greg Hands: The Energy Bills Support Scheme, as announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 February, is currently the subject of a government consultation issued on 11 April. The implementation of the policy will be reviewed following the conclusion of the consultation. Allowing consumers to opt out of receiving the reduction on their bills would likely increase the administrative costs and complexities of the scheme.

Energy: Prices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of rising energy prices on energy-intensive industries.

Greg Hands: In the UK Energy Security Strategy, the Government announced that the Energy Intensive Industry (EII) Compensation Scheme will be extended for a further 3 years to protect manufacturing sectors from high electricity costs. The Government is also more than doubling the current budget for the EII Compensation Scheme to support Energy Intensive Industries.

Energy: Standing Charges

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in energy supply standing charges.

Greg Hands: The standing charge is a fixed charge that suppliers pass on to their customers to cover the cost of providing a live supply. One component of these costs relates to transmission and distribution costs, which have increased recently as the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) levy is paid via network costs. The SoLR levy covers the unrecoverable costs of a supplier taking on the customers of a failed supplier and reflects the significantly higher costs of purchasing wholesale energy since August. The standing charge is passed on to consumers as a flat rate per day rather than as a percentage charge based on how much energy they use.

Energy: Prices

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of temporarily reducing the green levy on energy bills in order to assist people with energy costs after 1 April 2022.

Greg Hands: According to Ofgem, environmental and social policy costs totalled 25.48 percent on electricity bills and 2.46 percent on gas bills in 2020. Over the past 10 years their net effect has reduced consumer energy bills. These levies fund vital support schemes and energy efficiency measures which benefit low income and vulnerable households as well as investing in the UK’s home-grown renewable energy sector, reducing reliance on gas and therefore volatile gas prices. The Government continues to monitor the efficiency and value of green policies.

Fuels: Excise Duties

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure businesses pass on reductions in fuel duty to consumers in rural areas.

Greg Hands: The Government’s decision to cut fuel duty by 5 pence per litre for a period of 12 months will deliver savings worth over £5 billion to households and businesses over the next year, compared to uprating fuel duty in 2022-23. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to industry and held calls with major companies to impress upon them the need for these savings to be delivered to consumers across the country as soon as possible.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason hybrid heat pumps are not included in the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Greg Hands: Hybrid heating systems will not be supported through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme as funding will be directed towards the technologies that offer the greatest carbon savings, rather than those which will continue to involve the burning of fossil fuels for heating.

Energy: Meters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many smart meters have been installed in each of the last 10 years.

Greg Hands: The smart meter rollout is making good progress, with 27.8 million smart and advanced meters in homes and small businesses across Great Britain as of the end of December 2021. The Government’s official statistics on the rollout of smart meters are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/smart-meters-statistics. These statistics, based on data from energy suppliers, cover all smart meter installations from 2012 onwards.

Energy: Meters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of energy company meter readers that have lost their jobs in the last ten years.

Greg Hands: Smart meters are modernising the energy system, bringing an end to estimated bills and manual meter reads, which reduces costs and improves service for consumers. Energy suppliers are responsible for managing their workforce and the provision of metering and billing services. They have adopted a number of approaches to their changing workforce requirements, including re-training meter readers for other roles such as smart meter installers.

Energy Bills Rebate

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to enable households to exempt themselves from the Energy Bills Rebate.

Greg Hands: The Energy Bills Support Scheme, as announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 February, is currently the subject of a government consultation issued on 11 April. The implementation of the policy will be reviewed following the conclusion of the consultation. Allowing consumers to opt out of receiving the reduction on their bills would likely increase the administrative costs and complexities of the scheme.

Energy: Conservation

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support households with the (a) cost of insulation, (b) transition to heat pumps from gas boilers and (b) implementation of other energy efficiency measures.

Greg Hands: The Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy included £3.9 billion of new funding for decarbonising heat and buildings. This brings existing Government spending to a total of £6.6 billion across the lifetime of this parliament. This money is supporting energy-efficiency schemes including the Local Authority Delivery Scheme, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and the new £450 Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides discounts on the costs of installing a heat pump. The Government’s Energy Company Obligation Scheme has also been extended from 2022 to 2026 and its value increased from £640 million to £1 billion a year.

Energy: Standing Charges

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the impact of business failures in the energy sector on the amount of standing charge paid by consumers.

Greg Hands: Costs incurred when customers are moved to a new supplier from a failed supplier are split between the receiving supplier and a levy on industry as a whole. The levy compensates suppliers for the unrecoverable costs of taking on customers, such as purchasing additional wholesale energy. The standing charge element of consumer bills reflects some of the fixed costs of supplying energy, including gas and electricity system costs. In the April-October calculation of the price cap, Ofgem increased the distribution cost allowance due to the increased industry levy caused by exceptional global wholesale energy prices.

Energy Bills Rebate

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make a statement on potential measures under consideration for households to opt out of the £200 energy bill reduction.

Greg Hands: The Energy Bills Support Scheme, as announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 February, is currently the subject of a government consultation issued on 11 April.The implementation of the policy will be reviewed following the conclusion of the consultation. Allowing consumers to opt out of receiving the reduction on their bills would likely increase the administrative costs and complexities of the scheme.

Energy: Prices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of rising energy prices on small and medium size enterprises.

Greg Hands: The Government recognises this is a worrying time for businesses facing pressures due to increasing energy prices. Ministers and officials continue to provide support for industry, including businesses, by engaging constructively to further understand and mitigate the impacts of high energy prices. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State is in regular contact with the energy industry and Ofgem to manage the impact of high energy prices and will continue to monitor the situation closely, including the impacts on businesses.

Diesel Fuel: Russia

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will take steps to ensure that Russian diesel does not arrive in the UK in non-Russian vessels as recently occurred via the STI Comandante.

Greg Hands: The UK has committed to phasing out Russian oil by the end of 2022. The Government has established a new joint taskforce with industry, to work collaboratively on an orderly transition. In the case of diesel, UK demand is met by a combination of domestic production and imports from a diverse range of reliable suppliers, beyond Russia, including the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and the USA.

Electricity: Rural Areas

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the capacity of the electricity distribution network to simultaneously run a heat pump, charge an electric vehicle and utilise household appliances in rural, off-grid areas.

Greg Hands: Electricity Distribution Network Operators monitor their networks and engage with customers connecting domestic heat pumps and electric vehicle chargepoints, including those in rural, off-gas grid areas. This information is used to inform their network planning and to secure funding from the independent energy regulator, Ofgem, through the price control process to ensure their networks can accommodate the increased demand.

Renewable Energy: Scotland

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed locational marginal pricing system on renewable deployment in Scotland.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason the locational marginal pricing system for grid charges is being proposed before a resolution to the impact of the TNUoS transmission charging regime on Scotland has been achieved.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions the Government has had with representatives of Scotland’s renewable energy industry on the proposed locational marginal pricing system.

Greg Hands: The Government will set out the case for long-term reform of British electricity market arrangements as well as an initial assessment of policy options in a summer consultation: Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA), as announced in the British Energy Security Strategy, REMA will consider a wide range of options for reform to electricity markets and policies; at this point in time no options have been proposed by the Government. The Government is discussing REMA with the Devolved Administrations and will continue to engage closely as policy options develop under the programme.

Energy Supply

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason the British energy security strategy, published on 7 April 2022, does not refer to the potential role of biomethane on helping the UK to decarbonise and reduce its dependence on imported gas.

Greg Hands: The Government recognises the important role that biomethane plays in helping to decarbonise the gas grid and its value across all decarbonisation scenarios, as stated in the 2021 Biomass Policy Statement. The Green Gas Support Scheme, launched on 30 November 2021, provides tariff-support for biomethane produced via anaerobic digestion and injected into the gas grid. The Government expects the scheme to play a crucial role in greening the grid and contributing to broader ambitions, including supporting jobs and the rural economy.

Energy: Meters

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 5 April 2022 to Question 148402 on Energy: Prices, whether it is technically possible to equalise charges between standard and pre-payment meters; and if he will vary the Supply Licence Conditions referred to accordingly.

Greg Hands: This is a regulatory matter for Ofgem.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Written Questions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to respond to Question 146611 tabled by the hon. Member for Sefton Central on 24 March 2022.

Greg Hands: A response was made to the hon. Member on 31 March 2022.

Biofuels

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will ensure as part of its Biomass Strategy that production pathways which generate multiple biofuels, such as sustainable aviation fuel and bio-LPG, are utilised effectively.

Greg Hands: The Strategy will review the amount of sustainable biomass available to the UK and how this resource could be best utilised across the economy to help achieve the Government’s net zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050 while also supporting the delivery of wider environmental targets.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements: Misrepresentation

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent the mis-selling of individual voluntary arrangements.

Paul Scully: Used appropriately, Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) provide a flexible, accessible way for consumers in financial difficulty to come to an arrangement with their creditors. Acting as oversight regulator on behalf of the Secretary of State, the Insolvency Service works with the Recognised Professional Bodies that regulate the insolvency practitioners who supervise IVAs to ensure that relevant technical and ethical guidance in this area is adhered to, and where it is not, that regulatory action is taken. The Insolvency Service has published guidance to the Recognised Professional Bodies on monitoring volume IVA providers that it expects them to follow. This includes reviewing “introducer” agreements with particular reference to marketing and quality of advice, and an expectation that in instances where it has been identified that an IVA provider has engaged an introducer firm that provides unregulated advice, the agreement will be terminated. Officials work closely with the Financial Conduct Authority, the Advertising Standards Authority and the not-for-profit advice sector, all of which have an interest in this area, to ensure that consumers have access to clear and appropriate debt advice for their circumstances. The Government is currently considering responses to its consultation on the future of insolvency practitioner regulation, including a proposal to introduce the regulation of firms offering insolvency services (including IVA providers) and will publish its response in due course.

Long Covid: Research

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding UK Research & Innovation (a) has allocated to work on long covid by financial year to date and (b) will allocate to that matter in the next five financial years.

George Freeman: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have funded around £31 million in long Covid awards to date. Detailed allocations for specific programmes for this Spending Review period will be set out in due course.

Bile Duct Cancer: Research

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding has been allocated through UK Research and Innovation to research into cholangiocarcinoma.

George Freeman: Funding into cholangiocarcinoma has been allocated through the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Medical Research Council (MRC), National Centre for the Replacement Refinement and Reduction in Animals in Research (NC3Rs) and Innovate UK. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has allocated £1.8 million of funding to research related to the understanding, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of Cholangiocarcinoma since 2018/19.

Post Office: Annual Reports

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Post Office Annual Reports and Accounts for 2020-21 will be published.

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason the Post Office Ltd Annual Reports and Accounts 2020-21 have not yet been published.

Paul Scully: Post Office secured an extension for the filing of its Annual Report and Accounts for FY20/21 to 31 March 2022. I understand Post Office expect to publish their Accounts shortly.

Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what return the Government has received on the provision of its grant-funding to the Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre as part of the completed sale of that organisation; and what assessment he has made of the value for money obtained.

George Freeman: VMIC is a private company and due to commercial sensitivity, we cannot state how much funding we expect to recover from the grants provided to the Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC). The Government is supportive of VMIC Board’s decision to sell its Harwell facility and expects it to deliver strong positive value for money for the taxpayer. Catalent, the facility’s purchaser, is a global leader in the MRNA sector, with substantial experience manufacturing Moderna’s mRNA COVID vaccine, as well as the Pfizer, Janssen and AstraZeneca vaccines. Catalent is planning to invest up to £120m in the facility and provide up to 400 jobs. With this investment, Catalent will be able to complete and sustainable use the facility for the development and manufacture of biologic therapies and vaccines, potentially including mRNA: a valuable contribution to the UK’s vaccine resilience.

Newport Wafer Fab: Semiconductor Devices

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the significance of Newport Wafer Fab for the UK's semiconductor industry; and what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of potential Chinese ownership of that factory.

Paul Scully: The Government appreciates the vital role of the semiconductor sector in the global economy. As an open economy, we welcome foreign trade and investment where it supports UK growth and jobs, meets our stringent legal and regulatory requirements and does not compromise our national security. Where we identify concerns, we will not hesitate to use our powers to protect national security. We are unable to comment on the details of businesses' commercial transactions, or on national security assessments. The Government is considering the case and will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Stonewall

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to provide advice and support to its employees on LGBT+ inclusion after its membership to Stonewall's Diversity Champion programme has ended.

Lee Rowley: The Government has committed to a new standard for diversity and inclusion in the Civil Service which will promote a diversity of backgrounds and opinions. We are committed to fair, inclusive workplaces which draw on the talents of the widest possible range of backgrounds, especially people from non-traditional educational routes and from outside London and the South East. It is fundamental that everyone is able to seize opportunities in the workplace without fear of discrimination or harassment. Memberships of external schemes are kept under review, to ensure value for taxpayers’ money. A number of public bodies, including the BBC and EHRC, have resolved to best champion inclusion through internal programmes. Ministers believe that the underlying aims of supporting all staff, including those with protected characteristics, can be achieved in a different way to funding external pressure groups, without adverse equality impacts. The Civil Service’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy-2022-to-2025/civil-service-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy-2022-to-2025-html.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Stonewall

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will place a copy of the equality impact assessment undertaken in respect of his Department's decision to suspend its membership of Stonewall's Diversity Champion programme in the Library.

Lee Rowley: The Government has committed to a new standard for diversity and inclusion in the Civil Service which will promote a diversity of backgrounds and opinions. We are committed to fair, inclusive workplaces which draw on the talents of the widest possible range of backgrounds, especially people from non-traditional educational routes and from outside London and the South East. It is fundamental that everyone is able to seize opportunities in the workplace without fear of discrimination or harassment. Memberships of external schemes are kept under review, to ensure value for taxpayers’ money. A number of public bodies, including the BBC and EHRC, have resolved to best champion inclusion through internal programmes. Ministers believe that the underlying aims of supporting all staff, including those with protected characteristics, can be achieved in a different way to funding external pressure groups, without adverse equality impacts. The Civil Service’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategy can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy-2022-to-2025/civil-service-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy-2022-to-2025-html.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Stonewall

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason his Department has decided not to renew its membership of Stonewall's Diversity Champion programme.

Lee Rowley: The Government has committed to a new standard for diversity and inclusion in the Civil Service which will promote a diversity of backgrounds and opinions. We are committed to fair, inclusive workplaces which draw on the talents of the widest possible range of backgrounds, especially people from non-traditional educational routes and from outside London and the South East. It is fundamental that everyone is able to seize opportunities in the workplace without fear of discrimination or harassment. Memberships of external schemes are kept under review, to ensure value for taxpayers’ money. A number of public bodies, including the BBC and EHRC, have resolved to best champion inclusion through internal programmes. Ministers believe that the underlying aims of supporting all staff, including those with protected characteristics, can be achieved in a different way to funding external pressure groups, without adverse equality impacts. The Civil Service’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy-2022-to-2025/civil-service-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy-2022-to-2025-html.

Postage Stamps: ICT

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department are taking to raise public awareness of the stamp swap out scheme.

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure those who (a) cannot use or (b) do not have access to technology are able to the access the stamp swap out scheme.

Paul Scully: The operation of Royal Mail’s products and services, including the ‘Stamp Swap Out’ scheme, is a matter for the company’s management and, as a private company, the Government is not involved in Royal Mail’s operational or commercial decisions. It is Royal Mail’s responsibility to ensure its customers are aware of the introduction of barcoded stamps and the arrangements for exchanging old stamps. Royal Mail has announced further details about the ‘Stamp Swap Out’ scheme on its website and this includes details of how those who cannot use or do not have access to technology can participate. This information can be found at www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Written Questions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to respond to Question 141980 tabled by the hon. Member for Sefton Central on 17 March 2022.

Lee Rowley: I replied to the Hon. Member on 31st March.

Northern Ireland Office

Freeports: Northern Ireland

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions the Government has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the establishment of a freeport in Northern Ireland.

Conor Burns: We have been engaged with the Northern Ireland Executive on plans for Freeports in Northern Ireland and will continue to work with them to bring the benefits of Freeports to Northern Ireland. Freeports will bring together ports, local authorities, businesses and other key local stakeholders to achieve a common goal of shared prosperity and opportunity for the areas they serve. We remain committed to ensuring that Northern Ireland, alongside other parts of the United Kingdom, benefits from Freeports.

Department of Health and Social Care

Domestic Violence: Mental Health Services

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has been made of the adequacy (a) in the accessibility of specialist mental health services and (b) mental health training for those working with people impacted by domestic violence.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

PPE Medpro

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has paid to PPE MedPro for the purchase of personal protective equipment; and whether that company has met its contractual obligations for providing adequate personal protective equipment under the contractual terms set by his Department.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ayanda Capital

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has paid to Ayanda Capital Ltd for the purchase of personal protective equipment; and whether that company has met its contractual obligations for providing adequate personal protective equipment under the contractual terms set by his Department.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Kidney Diseases: Health Services

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2022 to Question 135529 on Kidney Diseases: Health Services, what steps he is taking to implement the National Outpatients Transformation Programme’s guidance on specialist advice in renal services and implementing personalised care follow up for CKD and transplant patients in England.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Kidney Diseases: Health Services

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2022 to Question 135529 on Kidney Diseases: Health Services, what selection process was used for participation in the Renal Services Transformation Programme’s five clinical workstreams.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Kidney Diseases: Health Services

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2022 to Question 135529 on Kidney Diseases: Health Services, when the 11 renal clinical networks will report on local renal priorities.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dental Services: Finance

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional urgent care appointments have been delivered through the £50 million catch up funding for NHS dentistry in January 2022 in (a) total and (b) each region of England.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dental Services: Finance

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dentists in England have delivered NHS care funded by the additional £50 million announced for NHS dentistry in January 2022.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dental Services: Bradford South

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional urgent care appointments have been delivered through the £50 million catch up funding for NHS dentistry in January 2022 in Bradford South.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dental Services: Finance

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional units of NHS dental activity were provided by the additional £50 million of funding announced by the Government in January 2022.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dialysis Machines: Costs

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what system his Department has in place to help ensure that NHS trusts reimburse patients who dialyse at home for the cost of the energy required to run their dialysis machines.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

St George's Hospital Tooting: Surgery

Felicity Buchan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ask St George's Hospital Trust and NHSI to review urgently the findings of the Lewis Review into Cardiac Surgery at St George's Hospital, in the context of the Senior Coroner Professor Wilcox of Westminster Coroner's Court having called into question the conclusions of that Report in the 38 cases which have been been heard before the Court and for which the GMC has decided that there is no need for a formal investigation into the medical professionals involved.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Long Covid

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients have been (a) assessed at long covid clinics and (b) discharged since the creation of those clinics; and what treatments have been offered to those patients at those clinics.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Kidney Diseases: Health Services

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2022 to Question 135529 on Kidney Diseases: Health Services, what his planned timetable for the reporting of findings from the Renal Services Transformation Programme’s Clinical workstreams on (a) improving access, (b) identifying best practice and (c) developing solutions to (i) chronic kidney disease, (ii) acute kidney injury and (iii) dialysis and transplant.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dental Services: Finance

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the £50 million NHS dentistry catch up fund announced in January 2022 has been spent in (a) total and (b) in each region of England.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Screening

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 April 2022 to Question 145835 on Coronavirus: Screening, what criteria are used to determine commercial sensitivity; and what his timescale is for publishing the number of lateral flow device tests issued to the public or used in healthcare settings since March 2020.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Screening

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of charging for covid-19 lateral flow tests on use of those tests.

Maggie Throup: We expect the overall level of testing in the population to reduce once tests are no longer free. Whilst guidance sets out when we advise the general public to continue testing, individuals should do so based on their own personal risk. The Government has worked with retailers to ensure testing is available at an affordable price.

Coronavirus: Screening

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the context of rising numbers of covid-19 infections in the UK, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on the general public of ending free universal symptomatic and asymptomatic covid-19 testing from April 2022.

Maggie Throup: The success of the COVID-19 vaccination and booster programme and the availability of antiviral treatments has reduced the risk of severe illness or hospitalisation for the majority of the population. For those unable to mount a full immune response, testing pathways to evidence based effective COVID-19 treatments will be available. We will continue to monitor prevalence and other factors, keeping testing policies under review.

Randox Laboratories: Contracts

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department carried out international price benchmarking on the contract awarded to Randox Laboratories Ltd in October 2020.

Maggie Throup: The Department did not carry out international price benchmarking. However, appropriate specialist scientific advice was sought and benchmarked against other provision in the United Kingdom to ensure value for money, resulting in a significantly reduced unit cost.

Health: Equality

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list all reports and reviews his Department has undertaken on health inequalities in the last 20 years.

Maggie Throup: A search of the Department’s central records identified the following reports and reviews referring to health inequalities published by the Department in the last 20 years:- ‘Tackling health inequalities: Status report on programme for action – 2006 update of headline indicators’;- ‘Review of the health inequalities infant mortality PSA target’;- ‘Healthcare for all: report of the independent inquiry into access to healthcare for people with learning disabilities’;- ‘The Wanless report: Securing good health for the whole population’;- ‘Tackling health inequalities in infant and maternal health outcomes’;- ‘Commissioning inclusive health services: practical steps’; and- ‘COVID-19: mental health and wellbeing surveillance – spotlights’

Coronavirus: Screening

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2022 to Question 98916 on Coronavirus: Screening, which body is responsible for the accreditation of businesses to supply covid-19 lateral flow tests to the NHS.

Maggie Throup: There is no accreditation process which applies to the businesses supplying COVID-9 lateral flow device (LFD) tests to the National Health Service. However, COVID-19 tests must have either a CE-mark or UKCA mark and either approved under the Medical Devices (Coronavirus Test Device Approvals) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 or listed on one of the temporary protocols. Where the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) or the devolved administrations procure LFD tests on behalf of the NHS, Coronavirus Test Device Approval is not required. However, the UKHSA evaluates these tests in a laboratory to ensure they display performance characteristics desirable for population testing. This evaluation is performed in advance of any procurement.

Sickle Cell Diseases: Health Services

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on sickle cell services.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England worked with the National Haemoglobinopathy Panel and Haemoglobinopathy Coordinating Centres on an expert clinical panel to understand and assess the effect of the pandemic on patients with sickle cell disease. The panel produced a range of policies and clinical guidelines on the treatment of haemoglobinopathy patients during the first wave of the pandemic. Regional commissioning teams worked directly with Haemoglobinopathy Coordinating Centres and Specialised Haemoglobinopathy Teams to understand and resolve localised impacts on service delivery.The Haemoglobinopathy Clinical Reference Group undertook two national lessons learned exercises to understand the impact on sickle cell patients. This identified that services had adapted to different ways of supporting patient care, with some trusts reporting a significant decrease in patients attending their appointments in-person as they were now being seen virtually.

Coronavirus: Screening

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it will be possible to register a covid-19 lateral flow test result online with the NHS after 1 April 2022 for the purposes of presenting that result to hospital authorities.

Maggie Throup: The public can continue to register publicly provided tests online and receive a confirmatory text message, which can be used for hospital services.

Long Covid: Thromboembolism

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will introduce routine screening of blood for micro-clots in patients presenting with long covid.

Maria Caulfield: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is an independent scientific body which makes recommendations to the Government and the National Health Service. The UK NSC has not reviewed evidence to offer routine blood screening blood for micro-clots in patients presenting with the long term effects of COVID-19. Population screening programmes aim to offer tests to people who appear healthy or who are symptom-free to assess the risk of developing a specific disease or to detect disease at an earlier, more easily treatable stage. Post COVID-19 is a new condition and our understanding continues to grow.

Coronavirus: Patients

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of current levels of covid-19 hospitalisations; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: No specific assessment has been made. The best defence against COVID-19 infection and the risk of hospitalisation is vaccination. In England, as of 10 April 2022, 85.5% of the population aged 12 years old and over has received two doses of vaccine and 72.3% of those aged over 18 years old have received a third primary dose or booster vaccination.On 21 February, we accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on offering a further dose to some individuals in a spring COVID-19 vaccination programme. The primary aim is to reduce the risk of severe disease among those deemed most at-risk. A further dose is being offered to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults and individuals aged 12 years old and over who are immunosuppressed.For those who are not eligible for the vaccine, or who have been vaccinated but do not develop sufficient immunity, antiviral and other treatments are available. The Government has secured 4.98 million patient courses of oral antiviral treatments to reduce the impact of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant in the United Kingdom.

Gender Recognition: Health Services

Kate Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the interim report of the Cass Review, if the Government will adopt the interim advice of reforming the approach to providing gender identity services for children and young people, replacing it with a system where local centres become direct service providers.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England is currently considering the interim report of the Cass Review. The Department continues to work with NHS England on how the review’s recommendations can be implemented.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that oestrogen hormone replacement therapy products are accessible to those requiring them.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has well established procedures to deal with medicine shortages and discontinuations should they arise. We work with pharmaceutical companies and trade bodies to regularly discuss the issue of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) supply. While there are a limited number of oestrogen only and oestrogen containing HRT products currently in shortage, alternative products remain available.

Gender Recognition: Health Services

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were on a waiting list to access gender identity services as of 29 April 2022; and what the average length of time a patient waits between a referral to a gender identity service and an initial appointment with that service.

Maria Caulfield: The information requested on waiting times is not held centrally as gender clinics currently collate and evaluate data at a local level.

Health Services: ICT

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 22 March 2022 to Question 141194 on Health Services: ICT, on what date in April 2022 his Department will hold information on the DTAC compliance for all digital health technologies and clinical systems.

Gillian Keegan: The information for the period to May 2022 will be requested from National Health Service organisations procuring digital health technologies in June 2022. It is currently intended that the exercise will be conducted on a quarterly basis.

Health Services: ICT

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2022 to Question 141194 on Health Services: ICT, in what form his Department will receive and hold data on the DTAC compliance of digital health technologies and clinical systems.

Gillian Keegan: National Health Service organisations will be commissioned and return this data by NHS secure email to be stored on secure servers. We are currently assessing which system is most appropriate to support this function in future.

Care Workers: Birmingham

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of social care staff in Birmingham who have been dismissed following the introduction of the covid-19 vaccine mandate.

Gillian Keegan: No specific estimate has been made as data on the reasons for staff exit are not collected. Following a public consultation, regulations were laid to revoke vaccination as a condition of deployment, which came into force on 15 March 2022.

Medical Records: Paper

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the amount of paper used in NHS record keeping.

Gillian Keegan: We have set a target for 90% of National Health Service trusts to have electronic patient records (EPRs) in place by December 2023. This will improve the quality of care by ensuring that health and care professionals have safe and secure digital access to personal information. The use of EPRs and wider efficiency improvements associated with interoperable systems also has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of the NHS.

Social Services: Recruitment

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on recruitment in the care sector of ending the infection control fund.

Gillian Keegan: No specific assessment has been made. However, in order to support the sector to address workforce pressures, we have expanded the Health and Care Visa to enable overseas recruitment of care workers. We have also delivered a national recruitment campaign between November 2021 and March 2022 and we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to promote adult social care careers to jobseekers.

Health: Data Protection

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what post-covid contracts are being negotiated by NHS England to manage health data as of 31 March 2022.

Gillian Keegan: As of 31 March 2022, NHS England is planning to tender for a Federated Data Platform (FDP), which will be a system of technologies and services implemented in the National Health Service in England. NHS England is currently in pre-market engagement to consider the scope and nature of this procurement with potential suppliers.

Health: Data Protection

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any negotiations are taking place between NHS England and Palantir for contracts to manage health data as of 31 March 2022.

Gillian Keegan: NHS England has an existing agreement with Palantir Technologies UK Ltd. Regular discussions on service delivery under that contract take place. As with all its procurement, NHS England procures contracts for management of health data under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 which may not require negotiation, such as where there may be call-off contracts from framework agreements.

Health: Data Protection

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what public consultation (a) has been undertaken and (b) is planned for contracts that will affect the management of health data.

Gillian Keegan: The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement comply with the General Data Protection Regulation and undertake appropriate data protection impact assessments for all new products, systems and processing activities. Individual high-profile programmes, such as General Practice Data for Planning and Research also undertake engagement to inform the approach to health data management. In 2021, the Department published a draft data strategy for health and social care for public and stakeholder engagement. A finalised strategy will be published shortly which will set out commitments to improve trust in the health and care system’s use of data, including engagement with the public and stakeholders on data programmes and projects.

Incontinence: Health Services

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has undertaken on the effectiveness of the incorporation by Clinical Commissioning Groups into their procedures of the NHS' Excellence in Continence Care Guidelines 2018.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there is a transition plan in place to ensure the continuity, enhancement and equality of access to continence services when Clinical Commissioning Groups transition to Integrated Care Systems from April 2022.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department last undertook an assessment of access to continence services; and whether his Department has undertaken an assessment of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on those services.

Gillian Keegan: Subject to the passage of the Health and Care Bill’s, integrated care boards (ICBs) will take on the commissioning functions of clinical commissioning groups and some of NHS England’s commissioning functions from July 2022. ICBs will be responsible for providing a comprehensive health service for their local populations, including continence services. Transition will be included as part of the overall ‘Ready to Operate’ schedules which NHS England will provide for each integrated care system.While no specific assessment has been made of levels of adherence to the ‘Excellence in Continence Care’ guidance or access to continence services, the guidance was produced with patient and public advocates, clinicians and partners from the third sector. However, NHS England is planning an assessment of adherence to ‘Excellence in Continence Care’ and its pandemic recovery and restoration plans include continence services.

Psychiatry

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is planning to take to help improve access to dialectic behavioural therapy through the NHS.

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is planning to take to help increase the number of therapists trained in dialectic behavioural therapy working in the NHS.

Gillian Keegan: The NHS Long Term Plan sets out an ambition to expand community mental health services for adults, including increasing access to evidence-based psychological therapies for people with severe mental health problems, such as dialectical behaviour therapy. A national curriculum has been developed for training additional National Health Service staff and an England-wide training programme has been established. To date, 325 staff have entered this two-year programme. Health Education England will continue to commission this training to expand access to dialectic therapy in NHS-commissioned services.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides to relevant clinicians on myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the NHS adheres to the MC/CFS NICE guidelines.

Gillian Keegan: In October 2021, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance for health and social care professionals ‘Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome: diagnosis and management’, which is available at the following link:http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng206Whilst these are not mandatory, clinicians and commissioners are expected to take the guidance fully into account in designing services to meet the needs of the local population and work towards implementation over time.

Mental Health Services: Children

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to include school and community-based early intervention provision for children and young people including play and creative arts therapy and counselling in forthcoming reforms to the Mental Health Act 1983, in addition to the autism, closed ward and clinical measures detailed in the White Paper on Reforming the Mental Health Act.

Gillian Keegan: The reforms to the Mental Health Act 1983 follow the recommendations made by the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act chaired by Sir Simon Wessely. However, school and community-based early intervention provision for children and young people fall outside the scope of these reforms. The provision of these services is a matter for local commissioners.We are improving early intervention provision for children and young people through the introduction of mental health support teams in schools and colleges. In 2022/23, 25% of the country will have access to mental health support teams, which will increase to 399 teams covering an estimated three million children and young people or approximately 35% of pupils by 2023/24.

Dementia: Research

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress he has made on delivering dementia moonshot.

Gillian Keegan: The Government has committed to invest at least £375 million in neurodegenerative disease research over the next five years to fund projects into a range of diseases, including dementia. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) launched a highlight notice on dementia in March 2021 and in November 2021, issued a call inviting research proposals on digital approaches for the early detection and diagnosis of dementia. A new dementia strategy setting out plans for dementia in England will be published later this year. The strategy will include plans to increase dementia research and deliver a moonshot.

NHS: Equality

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to the Equality Delivery System, commissioned by the Equality and Diversity Council, since July 2011.

Edward Argar: The Equality Delivery System (EDS) does not have a separate budget and has been supported by NHS England since 2013. National Health Service organisations are expected to deliver the EDS within existing budget allocations as part of the standard contract.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to substantively respond to Questions (a) 124936 on Surgical Mesh Implants: South East, due for Answer on 23 February, (b) 127247 on Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Independent Review, due for answer on 25 February and (c) 131025 on Members: Correspondence, seeking a response to a letter dated 6 December 2021 from the Rt hon. Member for New Forest East about a vulnerable constituent and due for answer on 3 March; for what reason none of the substantive answers have yet been forthcoming; and what steps he plans take to ensure that Questions receive a substantive answer on the date they are due.

Edward Argar: I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answers to Questions 124936, 127247 and 131025.We take parliamentary scrutiny incredibly seriously and it is fundamentally important that hon. Members are provided with accurate and timely information to enable them to hold the Government to account. We are working rapidly to provide all Members with accurate answers to their questions, while supporting the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Southampton Hospital: Parking

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to help reduce the cost of living with cystic fibrosis by ensuring hospital car parking is free for adults and families of children with all long-term conditions who (a) frequently attend appointments or (b) have hospital stays at Southampton General hospital.

Edward Argar: The Government committed to providing free hospital car parking for specific patient groups, including frequent outpatient attenders and parents of sick children staying in hospital overnight. However, the definition of frequent outpatient attenders is not determined by a particular illness or condition, such as cystic fibrosis. Over 94% of National Health Service trusts which charge for parking have implemented free parking for those with greatest need.

Midwives: Recruitment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to recruit midwives back into full NHS service who continue to work full time hours within the bank system.

Edward Argar: In December 2021, we invested a further £9.5 million for maternity services in England to plan, coordinate and deliver workforce developments. This included practical non-clinical support to maternity leadership teams to develop a flexible, adaptive and multi-disciplinary workforce, with a focus on the conversion of temporary staff to substantive staff.Support for temporary staff to convert to substantive roles within the National Health Service is offered where this is attractive for individuals and discussions take place at a local level. In addition, the opportunity for flexible working is also provided.

Coronavirus: Screening

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reinstating access to free covid-19 testing in special schools.

Maggie Throup: COVID-19 presents a low risk of serious illness to most children, young people and fully vaccinated individuals. The Department for Education has invested in carbon dioxide monitors and greater awareness of ventilation in educational settings, which significantly lowers the risk of COVID-19. Given the current low level of risk, since 21 February 2022, all staff and students in mainstream education at secondary school level and above and childcare settings are no longer advised to test twice a week. Testing will take place in special educational needs and disability residential settings only when advised by local health protection teams as part of an outbreak response.

Coronavirus: Screening

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether asymptomatic people who are at greater risk from covid-19, including immunocompromised, clinically vulnerable and clinically extremely vulnerable people, can access free lateral flow tests.

Maggie Throup: Asymptomatic lateral flow device testing will continue in some high-risk settings where infection can spread rapidly while prevalence is high. Free symptomatic testing will continue for patients in hospital, for whom a test is required for clinical management or to support treatment pathways and those eligible for COVID-19 treatments as they are at higher risk of serious illness. It is also available for individuals who live or work in high-risk closed settings, such as some National Health Service and social care settings and prison and other places of detention to minimise outbreaks.

Public Health: Cost of Living

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the rising cost of living on public health outcomes.

Maggie Throup: We have made no specific assessment. The health disparities white paper, due later this year, will set out actions to reduce the gap in health outcomes between different areas and communities.

Long Covid: Clinical Trials

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of clinical trials in Germany and South Africa that have determined a link between long covid and micro-clots.

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to commission research into long covid and the presence of micro-clots in patients blood.

Maria Caulfield: The Department is aware of clinical trials currently taking place internationally, which are researching possible links between the long term effects of COVID-19 and micro-clots. The Department will assess the impact of research findings as they emerge and update its guidance accordingly.Through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research Institute (UKRI), over £50 million has been invested in research projects for post-COVID-19 syndrome to improve our understanding and treatment of the condition. While it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics, the NIHR and UKRI welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including the long term effects of COVID-19.

Food: Advertising

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the Government's plan to restrict promotions on food and drinks high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS); and whether these regulations are still due to come into force in October 2022.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for the publication of the technical guidance on the implementation of the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021.

Maggie Throup: We have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on improving health and wellbeing, including measures to reduce obesity. Regulations made on 2 December 2021 will require medium and large businesses, those with 50 or more employees, to restrict the promotion of products high in fat, salt or sugar. These regulations will come into force in October 2022. The implementation guidance was published on 6 April 2022. The guidance was developed in collaboration with trade associations, businesses and local authorities to provide further clarification on which businesses and products are in scope of the Regulations.

Wales Office

Channel Four Television: Privatisation

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the privatisation of Channel 4 on residents in Newport West constituency.

Simon Hart: I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of matters, including on matters relating to public service broadcasting and the ownership of Channel 4. The Government consulted extensively on a change of ownership of Channel 4, and the views and evidence gathered from a wide range of stakeholders – including from stakeholders in Wales – have informed the Government’s assessment and wider policy-making. Following this consultation, the Culture Secretary has come to a decision that, although Channel 4 as a business is currently performing well, public ownership is holding it back in the face of a rapidly-changing and competitive media landscape. The Government will set out the future of Channel 4 in a White Paper shortly.

Department for Education

Schools: Sports

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to announce PE and sport premium funding for schools for 2022-23; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: The department is considering arrangements for the primary PE and sport premium for the 2022/23 academic year and beyond. We are aware of the importance of providing schools with sufficient notice of future funding and will confirm the position as early as possible.

Children: Day Care

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of the total number of children eligible for the early years pupil premium are accessing (a) all of and (b) part of the 30 hours free childcare entitlement; and if he will provide a breakdown of each of those four figures by (i) three and (ii) four year olds.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of the total number of children eligible for the early years pupil premium qualify for the 30 hours free childcare entitlement; and if he will provide a breakdown of each of those figures by (i) three and (ii) four year olds.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of the total number of children eligible for the early years pupil premium are accessing the 15 hours free childcare entitlement; and if he will provide a breakdown of each of those figures by (i) two, (ii) three and (iii) four year olds.

Will Quince: There were 74,488 children aged three and 33,353 children aged four, who were registered to receive the 15 hours free childcare entitlements and who were also in receipt of Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) funding in January 2021. Children are only eligible for EYPP funding if they are aged three or four and are also registered to receive the 15 hours free childcare entitlement; as such all children eligible for EYPP will also be registered to receive 15 hours free childcare.Children aged two are not eligible for EYPP. However, some of the same criteria are used to determine whether two-year-olds are eligible to access 15 hours of free childcare. There were 124,543 children aged two who were registered to receive this entitlement in January 2021. This figure includes children eligible because of high level special educational needs or disability, being looked after or adopted from care, or having no recourse to public funds, in addition to those meeting economic criteria similar to those used for EYPP eligibility. The percentage of eligible two year olds registered to receive 15 hours free childcare was 62% in January 2021.All figures above refer to England only and are derived from January 2021 data published in the Education provision: children under 5 years of age publication, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-provision-children-under-5. The next release containing January 2022 data is scheduled to be published at the end of June 2022.With regard to figures on the number of three and four year olds registered to receive the 30 hours free childcare entitlements and who are also in receipt of the EYPP are not readily available.

Educational Institutions: Cybersecurity

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the comments of the Director of GCHQ on 31 March 2022 on the standard of the UK's cyber security, whether he has made a recent assessment of the cybersecurity and resilience to cyber attack of (a) schools, (b) further education colleges, (c) universities and (d) contexts for early years provision; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robin Walker: The department does not directly assess the cyber security status or resilience of educational establishments. However, it does engage with the sector by collating information from past incidents. This information enables us to gain an insight into the issues faced following a cyber-attack so that we can broadly understand the landscape.Educational providers in England are responsible for maintaining their information technology systems and cyber security. The department has a dedicated sector cyber security team to support this activity. This team provides appropriate guidance and advice via regular targeted and broad communications to help schools adhere to and maintain good cyber security standards. The sector cyber security team also manages incoming cyber incident reports from educational institutions. Upon report of an incident, the team will provide recovery advice and ongoing support as required.The department works closely with partners such as National Cyber Security Centre and Jisc to ensure that the same up-to-date guidance, standards, and support are available for higher and further education establishments.The department has also developed a self-assessment tool that is due for release this year. This tool will help schools assess vulnerabilities in their cyber resilience, highlight areas for improvement, and give direction on how this can be achieved.

Teachers: Conditions of Employment

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Schools White Paper, if he will include the workforce framework contained in the School teachers' pay and conditions document.

Mr Robin Walker: The Schools White Paper was published on 28 March 2022 and sets out our commitment to teaching being an attractive, high-status profession; we will recruit and retain the best teachers, in the subjects and areas they are needed most. The full publication can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/opportunity-for-all-strong-schools-with-great-teachers-for-your-child.The School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) is statutory guidance on pay and conditions for teachers. It applies to local authority maintained schools in England. The STPCD will be updated at the end of this year’s pay round to reflect the pay award for the 2022/23 academic year. The full document can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-teachers-pay-and-conditions.

Universities: Donors

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to introduce a register of overseas donations for universities.

Michelle Donelan: As my right hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has stated, we are further exploring the issues raised in the proposed Report Stage amendment to the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, seeking to introduce transparency and public reporting of foreign donations to universities.I will provide an update on the outcome of this work when the Bill returns to the House of Commons.

Children: Disadvantaged

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of the publication entitled, Reaching the unseen children: Practical strategies for closing stubborn attainment gaps in disadvantaged groups; and whether he plans to take steps in response to that publication.

Mr Robin Walker: Enabling every child, irrespective of their background, to realise their potential at school has been at the centre of this government’s education policy since 2010. The government continues to provide schools with additional funding through the pupil premium to raise the attainment of all disadvantaged pupils, which will rise to over £2.6 billion in the 2022/23 academic year.The department knows that disadvantaged pupils have experienced greater loss in their education as a result of the pandemic, which is why we are targeting additional recovery funding towards disadvantaged pupils. This includes a time-limited recovery premium worth over £1.3 billion for state funded schools over the 2021/22 – 2023/24 academic years. Building on the pupil premium, the recovery premium helps schools to deliver evidence-based approaches to support education recovery for disadvantaged pupils.It is for school leaders to decide how to use their funding, based on the evidence of what works alongside their professional judgement. We have published guidance for school leaders on using pupil premium, which includes the ‘menu of approaches’ to help them to do this, and is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium#online-statements.From the start of the 2022/23 academic year, schools must ensure their funding is spent in line with the menu. It is based on evidence of effective practice to ensure that spending is focussed on raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

Broadband: Schools

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether all schools will receive lightning-fast gigabit capable broadband by 2025.

Mr Robin Walker: As announced by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, at the March 2022 Bett show, the government will work with commercial providers to accelerate gigabit capable broadband rollout to schools. This will enable all schools to have access to a high-speed connection by 2025. This is the latest step in cross-government plans to roll out gigabit broadband across the UK. The department will be providing further detail in the future.

Musical Instruments: Education

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he is taking steps to enable every child to learn a musical instrument.

Mr Robin Walker: The government remains committed to continued support for music education. Following the Spending Review settlement, the department announced that it will continue to invest around £115 million per annum in cultural education through our music, arts, and heritage programmes, working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Arts Council England and others. As part of this funding, the department has committed £79 million for the 2022/23 financial year for music hubs.Music hubs are groups of organisations, such as local authorities, schools, other hubs, art organisations, community, or voluntary organisations, that work together to create joined-up music education provision and provide specialist music education services to around 90% of state-funded schools. This includes whole class and group ensemble teaching, and individual instrument tuition.Hubs also ensure that progression routes are clear and affordable, and some hubs provide instrument loans to children and young people to achieve this.The government’s focus on high quality music education is also reflected in our commitment to refresh the National Plan for Music Education. The plan will be co-published alongside DCMS later this year.

Religion: Education

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Schools White Paper on the means for ensuring high quality provision of Religious Education for all pupils in England; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Schools White Paper entitled Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child, published on 28 March 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of religious education on people’s understanding of each other in wider society; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robin Walker: The government believes that religious education (RE) is an important subject, developing a pupil’s knowledge and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society, and serving to inform their own values and behaviours. RE can also contribute to pupils’ personal development and wellbeing, by promoting mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse society. It is an important contributor to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, which schools are required to facilitate as per the Education Act 2002.In school life, RE can develop and nuance the skills required for other parts of the school curriculum such as history, citizenship, and personal, social, health and economic education. Studying RE can serve to improve community cohesion. It provides a key context to develop young people’s understanding and appreciation of diversity, to promote shared values, and to challenge racism and discrimination.In the Schools White Paper, ‘Opportunity for All’, the department committed to establishing a new arms-length curriculum body. We will work with thousands of teachers to co-design, create and continually improve packages of optional, free, adaptable digital curriculum resources and video lessons. Each subject, including RE, will have a choice of resources, providing variety for teachers. This sector-led approach will draw on expertise and inputs from across the country, involving teachers, schools, trusts, subject associations, national centres of excellence and educational publishers.The department will continue to support the provision of high-quality RE. Subject knowledge enhancement courses remain available in cases where a School Direct lead school or initial teacher training providers identify applicants who have the potential to become outstanding teachers, but who need to increase their subject knowledge in a range of subjects. This includes an eight week RE course.

Schools: Energy

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to take steps to increase school budgets in response to rising energy costs.

Mr Robin Walker: The department recognises that schools will be facing cost pressures in the coming months, particularly due to the increase in energy prices. We are looking carefully at how this will impact schools and are considering what additional support we could offer.Cost increases should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. The government is delivering a £4 billion cash increase in the core schools budget next year, taking total funding to £53.8 billion. This includes an additional £1.2 billion for schools in the new schools supplementary grant for the 2022/23 financial year. Overall, this represents a 7% cash terms per pupil boost, which will help schools meet the pressures we know they are facing, particularly around energy costs. The department pays close attention to financial health of the sector, and we are closely assessing where energy costs may more significantly impact schools’ financial health.All schools can access a range of school resource management (SRM) tools to help them get the best value from their resources, to help them save on regular purchases and reduce non-teaching costs. Our SRM tools include recommended deals for energy costs and ancillary services relating to energy. The department will also update and strengthen guidance on a regular basis to inform schools of the market and commercial position, with practical advice on exiting existing and entering new contracts, available here: https://www.get-help-buying-for-schools.service.gov.uk/procurement-support. The Get Help Buying for Schools service will also be able to offer support to schools in switching and entering new contracts.The department recognises that every school’s circumstances are different, and where schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

Reading: Teaching Methods

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on (a) phonics and (b) reading of the recent research report published in the Review of Education, Reading wars or reconciliation: A critical examination of robust research evidence, curriculum policy and teachers' practices for teaching phonics and reading; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support children not meeting expected standards of literacy.

Mr Robin Walker: The department is committed to raising literacy standards by following the evidence.The evidence for systematic phonics is very secure. For example, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) have carried out a comprehensive review of robust studies on the impact of phonics and they found that systematic phonics is the most effective approach for teaching pupils to decode, including older pupils struggling with decoding, when embedded in a rich literacy environment.The national curriculum is explicit that learning to decode words is just one element of becoming a fluent reader. This is based on the Simple View of Reading (explained in more detail in the July 2021 Reading Framework), which describes reading as the product of both decoding and language comprehension. This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-reading-framework-teaching-the-foundations-of-literacy.The Schools White Paper builds on the department’s record of supporting the improvement of literacy standards over the past decade, including the introduction of the Phonics Screening Check; the English Hubs Programme; the publication of the reading framework; and the validation of phonics programmes. The English Hubs are currently delivering intensive support to over 1,000 partner schools and will continue to support schools to drive up literacy standards, including driving improvements in the quality of reading education for those not meeting expected standards in literacy. The full White Paper can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/opportunity-for-all-strong-schools-with-great-teachers-for-your-child.The department will also make it easier for schools to access the best evidence of 'what works' by re-endowing the EEF with at least £100 million, developing and scaling literacy and numeracy interventions with over £55 million via our Accelerator Fund, and introducing a menu of recommended evidence-based approaches linked to the Pupil Premium.In addition, from Autumn 2022, the National Professional Qualification for Leading Literacy will be available. This qualification has been designed to develop teachers’ expertise in leading the development of pupils’ language, reading, and writing in all key stages and is aimed at teachers and leaders who have, or are aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading literacy across a school, year group, key stage, or phase. The content framework which underpins this qualification was published in October 2021 and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-professional-qualifications-npqs-reforms/national-professional-qualifications-npqs-reforms. Further details around eligibility and funding for this qualification will be announced in due course.

Department for Education: Randstad

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Written Statement of 31 March 2022, HCWS755 on Education Update, on what date the decision was taken not to renew the contract held with Randstad beyond its initial contract term.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the National Tutoring Programme on pupil attainment.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the National Tutoring Programme.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of  tutors employed through the funding provided to the National Tutoring Programme; and how many of those tutors are qualified teachers.

Mr Robin Walker: As of 13 March 2022, the National Tutoring Programme has delivered just under 1.2 million tuition course starts. This has been driven by the successful introduction of school-led tutoring, which is proving popular among schools. The latest statistical release on 31 March 2022 showed that 76% of tutoring in the 2021/22 academic year is being delivered through this route.The department has concluded that a new approach is required for next year. This is based on government learning from school-led tutoring and wider feedback from schools asking for more freedom and flexibility to deliver tutoring.On 31 March 2022, the department announced that all tutoring funding for the 2022/23 academic year will go directly to schools. This will simplify the system and increase flexibility for schools to decide how best to provide tutoring for their children. The department announced the launch of procurement activity in mid-April to appoint one or more delivery partners for the 2022/23 academic year and the 2023/24 academic year. The delivery partner(s) will be responsible for quality assurance of tuition partners, recruiting and deploying Academic Mentors, and offering training.Independent evaluations are being conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) for both year one and two of the programme’s Tuition partner and Academic Mentor routes. The department expects results from the year one evaluation to be published in Autumn 2022.This will include insights into how the programme has been implemented and the impact on pupil progress. Interim findings are being shared with the department so that ongoing evaluation can inform policy making. The year two evaluation of the Tuition partner and Academic Mentor routes focuses on pupil progress, school and teacher impacts, and reasons for non-participation.In addition to the evaluation of the Tuition partner and Academic Mentor routes, school-led tutoring is being evaluated by the NFER. It is looking at the impact of school-led tutoring on pupil attainment outcomes. Its report will also look at how schools have chosen to spend the grant, how successfully training has supported tutoring, the perceived benefits of the school-led tutoring grant and how it could be improved in the future. The year two reports will be published in 2023. These will include an estimate of the number of tutors participating in school-led tutoring and the proportion of those with qualified teacher status.

Textbooks: Languages

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer on teaching materials for Ukrainian-speaking and Russian-speaking children (question 145854), what steps he has taken to assure the precision, accuracy, usability, and suitability for children of the automatic translations he has prepared for children through Oak National Academy, in respect of (i) Ukrainian, and (ii) Russian.

Mr Robin Walker: Oak National Academy has enabled users to auto-translate its 10,000 lessons into a variety of languages, including Ukrainian and Russian. This is enabled through automatic translations services offered by major internet browsers, as well as through the integration of online translation tools into its lesson resources.As an automated online service, while 100% accuracy cannot be guaranteed, these tools are of high quality and high accuracy. The service is designed as a rapid, temporary measure to support families fleeing the war with access to educational content, helping their transition to some routine and stability within the safety of the UK.As part of its standard working practice, Oak National Academy responds to user feedback (including from teachers and parents as well as pupils) to ensure content remains high-quality and any questions are addressed as soon as possible.

Religion: Education

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Schools White Paper, what plans he has to help ensure there is (a) adequate funding for and (b) uptake of ITT bursaries for religious education; and if he will make a statement.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Schools White Paper, what estimate he has made of the proportion of hours of religious education hours taught by teachers with no post A level qualification in that subject in comparison to other subjects in the curriculum.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to to help ensure that the recruitment target for religious education teachers in secondary schools is met. .

Mr Robin Walker: Legislation does not specify that teachers must have a post-A level qualification in a particular subject or discipline. It is the Teachers’ Standards that specify the subject knowledge required for the award of qualified teacher status. All trainee teachers must meet these by the time they complete their training.25.2% of religious education (RE) hours taught were by a teacher with no relevant post-A level qualification in that subject in the 2019/20 academic year. This compares with 12.2% across English Baccalaureate subjects.Information on subjects taught and teacher post-A level qualifications is published in the annual ‘school workforce in England’ statistical publication at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2019.To reduce the burden on schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, schools were not required to provide information on teacher qualifications in the November 2020 school workforce census. Therefore, the information provided relates to the 2019 school workforce census. Figures for the 2021/22 academic year will be published in June 2022.The bursaries that the department offers for initial teacher training (ITT) are intended to incentivise applications to ITT courses. The department reviews the bursaries on offer each year to take account of factors, including historic recruitment, forecast economic conditions, and teacher supply need in each subject. This provides flexibility to respond to the need to attract new teachers, and means the department is spending money where it is needed most.In the 2020/21 academic year, the department exceeded the postgraduate ITT target in RE (129% of target). In the 2021/22 academic year, the equivalent target for RE was extremely close to being met (99% of target). As a result, the department has focused the bursaries on subjects where it is hardest to attract sufficient applicants. The department will review the need for financial incentives across all subjects again, using the latest available data, before announcing the bursaries for the 2023/24 academic year.RE trainee teachers can apply for student finance. This includes a tuition fee loan, maintenance loan and additional means-tested funding for trainees in particular circumstances, including those with children, adult dependants, or a disability. Trainees on employment-based courses are ineligible for student finance as they earn a salary whilst they train instead.The department continues to support RE trainee teacher recruitment through subject knowledge enhancement courses. These are available for applicants who have the potential to become outstanding teachers, but who need to increase their subject knowledge before the Teachers’ Standards can be met.

Teachers: Training

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to take specific steps to promote and encourage teachers to undertake training on racial bias, discrimination and anti-racism.

Mr Robin Walker: Racism has no place in education and providers have a responsibility to ensure they take a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of racism towards staff and students. All educational institutions should be inclusive and welcoming for students and staff from all backgrounds.To be awarded qualified teacher status, trainees must demonstrate all of the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level, including Teacher Standard One, which requires teachers to have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils and set goals that stretch and challenge young people of all backgrounds and abilities. Section 2 of the Teachers’ Standards’ is also clear that teachers must treat all pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect; and show tolerance and respect for the rights of others.Once teachers pass initial teacher training, they enter into two years of funded support through the Early Career Framework, which requires early career teachers to be trained and supported to develop their understanding of maintaining fair and inclusive school environments. This is supplemented by a reformed suite of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) to provide training and support for teachers and school leaders at all levels to improve outcomes for young people, including a specialist NPQ in Leading Behaviour and Culture that focuses upon the skills and knowledge required to have a positive impact on the wellbeing, motivation and behaviour of their pupils and create a school culture of high-expectations.Beyond training, school leaders are responsible for ensuring their workforce has appropriate training to meet the needs of all pupils, which is in line with the department’s position on school autonomy and school leaders being best placed to assess the needs of their pupils and workforce.The Public Sector Equality Duty also requires public bodies, including maintained schools and academies to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010; advance equality of opportunity for people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it; and foster good relations across all characteristics. The department has published guidance for schools on how to comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-2010-advice-for-schools.

Ministry of Justice

Succession

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2022 to Question 111770, on Succession, whether he plans to put in place protections to prevent a convicted domestic abuser inheriting from the death of their spousal victim in the absence of an individual will.

James Cartlidge: The law normally prevents those guilty of an unlawful killing from being a beneficiary of a will (the ‘forfeiture rule’) but does not automatically change inheritance rights for any other conviction. I am, however, aware of concern that the law may not go far enough. The Government is currently giving consideration to this issue, and to the case and options for reform.

Prison and Probation Service: Coronavirus

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what has the cost to the public purse been of the HMPPS Special Payments Scheme since March 2020.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what has the cost to the public purse been of HM Prison and Probation Service's covid-19 Special Payments Scheme in privately operated prisons since March 2020.

Victoria Atkins: HM Prison and Probation Service’s Covid-19 Special Payments Scheme was operated during 2020 only. This was an important set of interventions introduced to support prison and probation services and safeguard staff and offenders during the early period of the COVID19 pandemic when staff absence levels were high, the working environment challenging, and the resilience of the workforce under immense pressure. The scheme allowed for additional hours to be generated to cover absences caused by COVID and to ensure continuation of service and the provision of a safe, decent and secure regime. The total cost of the scheme across HMPPS was £68.7m. The cost of the scheme in privately operated prisons was £2.0m.

Oakhill Secure Training Centre

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions in the 12 months ending 31 March 2022 the independent person appointed to Oakhill secure training centre raised any matters of concern with him.

Victoria Atkins: We have understood this to refer to the independent review of safeguarding being undertaken by Sheila Durr, who is a specialist safeguarding children consultant. Ms Durr began her review in January 2022 which has not yet completed. To date, she has not raised any issues of concern with the Secretary of State.

Young Offender Institutions

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions children in (a) Oakhill secure training centre and (b) each juvenile young offender institution spent 22 hours locked in their cell in the 12 months ending 31 March 2022; and if he will breakdown those figures by (i) age, (ii) sex, (iii) ethnicity of the child and (iv) the number of children who were classed as disabled using the definition in Section 6 of the Equality Act 2010.

Victoria Atkins: As the requested information is held at establishment level, rather than centrally, it is not possible to provide it without incurring disproportionate cost.

Young Offender Institutions

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds for each juvenile young offender institution which shows the number of times an individual child was removed from association for periods (a) up to three days, (b) up to 14 days, (c) up to 21 days, (d) up to 42 days and (e) more than 42 days in the 12 months ending 31 March 2022; and if he will breakdown those removals by (i) age, (ii) sex, (iii) ethnicity of the children removed from association, (iv) the number of children who were classed as disabled and (v) the recorded reasons for such removal.

Victoria Atkins: There are some occasions when it is necessary to remove young people from association because their behaviour is likely to be so disruptive that keeping them on ordinary location would be unsafe, or because their own safety and wellbeing cannot reasonably be assured by other means. Removal from association cannot be used as a punishment, and there are careful limits placed on the length of time for which young people can be separated. Information for the 12 months ending 31 March 2022 is not yet available. In the 12 months ending 28 February 2022, which is the latest period available for reporting, there were 767 removals of children from association in Youth Offender Institutions where that removal had ended on or by 28 February 2022, broken down as follows:  Cookham WoodFelthamParcWerringtonWetherby - MainWetherby - Keppel UnitPeriod of Removal  (a) up to three days512492138-13#(b) up to 14 days149859749416(c) up to 21 days21#01059#(d) up to 42 days12-19#04-917#(e) more than 42 days#00###Total24011610110618123   (i) Age  1514##7110165928323147#17125665156891618+3115-205-10828#Total24011610110618123   (ii) Sex  Male2291169610217520-25Female00000#   (iii) Ethnicity  Asian7-113-8#125-100Black13165293346#Mixed2715151321#Not Stated#0#000Other13##0#0White472549449617Total24011610110618123   (iv) Disability  Information on a child or young person's disability status is not currently held centrally.   (v) Reason for Removal  Prevent Harm to Others139102#7415214Prevent Harm to Self377##6#Self-Isolation64702423#Pending Adjudication0095000Other000#00Total24011610110618123  Source: Bespoke returns from establishments collated centrally on a monthly basisSeparations starting on or before 28 February 2022 and ending on or after 1 March 2021. Completed Separations Only# indicates a value of 5 or fewer Where a suppressed value could be calculated from other values, secondary suppression has been appliedBreakdowns (i) to (v) do not include cases where the information is not known The data are generated from internal management information. The entire period reported on is from a time of regime restrictions to counter the spread of Covid 19. Separations due to Covid 19 are not included in the numbers presented. The bespoke returns used to generate this information were introduced in December 2019, just prior to the Covid 19 restrictions.

Oakhill Secure Training Centre

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many records were made under Rule 36(4) of The Secure Training Centre Rules 1998 in respect of the removal of children from association at Oakhill secure training centre in the 12 months ending 31 March 2022; and if he will breakdown those figures by (i) age, (ii) sex, (iii) ethnicity of the children removed from association, (iv) the number of children who were classed as disabled and (v) the recorded reasons for such removal.

Victoria Atkins: There are some occasions when it is necessary to remove young people from association because their behaviour is likely to be so disruptive that keeping them on ordinary location would be unsafe, or because their own safety and wellbeing cannot reasonably be assured by other means. Removal from association cannot be used as a punishment, and there are careful limits placed on the length of time for which young people can be separated. Information to the 12 months ending 31 March 2022 is not yet available. In the 12 months ending 28 February 2022, which is the latest period for which information is available, there were 311 removals of children from association at Oakhill Secure Training Centre, broken down as follows:(i) Age 10 - 14521510116106173818+0Not Known14 (ii) SexIn the 12 months to end of February 2022, all Children or Young People at Oakhill were male (iii) Ethnicity  Asian0 Black118 Mixed34 Other14 White120 Ethnicity Not Stated11 Not Known14 (iv) DisabilityWe are currently not able to report on a Child or Young Person's disability status (v) Reasons for removal Prevent Harm to Others>= 305Prevent Harm to Self#Prevent Serious Damage to Property# Source: Bespoke returns from establishments collated centrally on a monthly basis# indicates a value of 5 or fewerThe data are generated from internal management information. The entire period reported on is from a time of regime restrictions to counter the spread of Covid 19. Separations owing to Covid 19 are not included in the numbers presented.

Treasury

Treasury: USA

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Department's transparency data on ministerial travel published on 31 March 2022, whether the £8,012.26 cost of his visit to San Francisco from 14th to 16th December 2021 included (a) first class or (b) business class air tickets; and what the stand-alone cost of those tickets were.

Helen Whately: Ministers routinely travel in business class for long-haul international flights, the £8,012.26 paid represents the cost of a business class ticket to San Francisco.

Plastics: Taxation

Geraint Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Budget 2020 Policy Costings and the £695 million predicted to be raised by the plastic packaging tax between 2022-23 and 2024-25, how much and what proportion of that revenue the Government plans to allocate to tackling single-use plastics, waste and litter before system wide changes are delivered through deposit return schemes and extended producer responsibility reforms in 2025 and beyond.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Budget 2020 Policy Costings, which predicted £240 million to be raised by the plastic packaging tax in 2022-23, and paragraph 3.57 of the Budget 2018 Red Book, what proportion of that revenue has been allocated for tackling single-use plastics, waste and litter.

Geraint Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.57 of the Budget 2018 Red Book, how much and what proportion of the revenues of the plastic packaging tax have been allocated for tackling single-use plastics, waste and litter.

Helen Whately: The 2021 Autumn Budget and Spending Review confirmed that since March 2021 the government will have committed a total of £30 billion of public investment for the green industrial revolution in the UK.  Alongside the Plastic Packaging Tax, the government is introducing measures including a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers, an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme and Consistent Recycling Collections. These measures will work hand-in-hand to tackle plastic waste and litter.

Treasury: Photographs

Matt Western: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average annual amount spent by his Department is on photographers for the Chancellor; and which budget line and cost category that spending is recorded against.

Helen Whately: All photographs are taken by members of the Treasury’s in-house communications team at no additional cost.

Taxation: Scotland

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has received any recent representations from the Scottish Government on the introduction of a windfall tax in that country.

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has received a request from the Scottish Government for the transfer of powers that would allow that government to introduce a windfall tax.

Helen Whately: HM Treasury is not aware of any such representations or requests. All taxes are kept under review and any changes are considered and announced by the Chancellor.

Ukraine: Humanitarian Aid

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2022 to Question 147039, on Ukraine: Humanitarian Aid, whether there are customs restrictions on volunteer aid organisations taking battery packs and other power packs to (a) Ukraine and (b) surrounding countries.

Lucy Frazer: Dual-use, prohibited and restricted goods are excluded from the Humanitarian Aid easement to Ukraine. Exporters will need to ascertain the control status of the battery or power packs they wish to export to see if an export licence is required. Enquiries can be made with the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) within the Department for International Trade. The contact details for ECJU can be found on gov.uk.

Eat Out to Help Out Scheme

Matt Western: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total forecast figure budgeted for the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was when that scheme was launched in June 2020.

Lucy Frazer: The original forecast figure for the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was £500 million. This estimate was based on the 2018 ONS Annual Business Survey turnover data for the relevant sectors, along with the Spring Budget consumption forecast, and was published in the Plan for Jobs 2020. This can be found under table 1 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-plan-for-jobs-documents/a-plan-for-jobs-2020. The amount paid under the scheme was £840 million, due to the popularity of the scheme and its effectiveness in meeting the policy objectives of incentivising consumer use of restaurants, and other such establishments, and protecting jobs in hospitality.

Energy Bills Rebate

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding he has allocated to the £150 household council tax rebate; and what estimate he has made of the total value of the £200 household energy rebate scheme.

Mr Simon Clarke: The government has announced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23. This includes a £150 non-repayable council tax rebate from April this year for households in England in council tax bands A-D and £144 million of discretionary funding to support households who need help with their energy bills but are not eligible. The cost of these measures is estimated to be around £3 billion and will be finalised following a reconciliation process to confirm how many rebates have been provided. The devolved administrations will be provided with funding to provide similar support, totalling £576 million that will be distributed through the Barnett formula. In addition, the package also includes a £200 bill reduction to domestic electricity customers’ bills from October 2022, which will help around 28 million households with the cost of living. From April 2023, costs will be recovered through energy bills over 5 years, up to £40 a year per meter point.

Health Services: USA

Matt Western: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the (a) dates and (b) names of organisations and representatives present of any meetings he has held with US healthcare companies since becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Mr Simon Clarke: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of external stakeholders. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: HMT ministers' meetings, hospitality, gifts and overseas travel - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Credit

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what projections he has made about changes in the use of unsecured credit over the next 12 months.

John Glen: HM Treasury regularly monitors changes in the consumer credit market as part of its normal process of policy development. However, it does not routinely forecast consumer credit usage, including use of unsecured credit. It is worth noting that the ONS Quarterly National Accounts found that the household debt to income ratio has decreased to 136% in Q4 2021, down from a high of 163% in Q1 2008. Around three quarters of total debt is secured against housing. Unsecured debt as a share of household income is now 32% (Q4 2021), down from its peak of 43% before the financial crisis (Q1 2007). Further retrospective analysis of trends in consumer credit product usage is produced by other organisations, including the Bank of England’s monthly statistical releases on money and credit and the Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives Surveys.

Cooperatives and Mutual Societies: Regulation

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to review the regulatory requirement on withdrawable capital for co-operative and mutual banks.

John Glen: The Government recognises the value of co-operatives. It is clear that they offer a different form of running a business, with a focus on delivering the services their members and communities need. Furthermore, the Government welcomes the efforts to establish regional mutual banks and recognises the importance of diversity in the banking system.The Government also recognises that, given their distinct ownership model, raising capital may present challenges for co-operatives. To support this, in 2014 the Government raised the limit of withdrawable share capital that a member can hold from £20,000 to £100,000 to give co-operatives greater flexibility to raise capital. The Government does not have any current plans to review this legislation.

Banks: Closures

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential number of bank branch closures in 2022.

John Glen: The Government recognises the importance of appropriate access to banking. However, decisions on opening and closing branches are a commercial issue for banks and building societies. The Government does not intervene in these decisions or make direct assessments of these branch networks.The largest banks and building societies have been signed up to the Access to Banking Standard since 2017, which commits them to ensure that customers are well informed about branch closures, the bank’s reasons for closure and options for continued access to banking services.Guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority also sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This ensures that the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly.Alternative options for access can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business banking customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.

Help to Buy Scheme

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) enabling people with a Help to Buy ISA move their investment to a Lifetime ISA and (b) lifting the cap on house prices of a Help to Buy ISA in line with a Lifetime ISA from a purchase price of £250,000 to £450,000; and if he will make a statement.

John Glen: The Government’s aim is to provide the opportunity for first-time buyers to enter the housing market. Both the Lifetime ISA (LISA) and the Help to Buy: ISA form part of the Government’s support in this area. Individuals are generally able to transfer savings held in a Help to Buy: ISA to a LISA. For the duration of the 2017-18 tax year, savers with a Help to Buy: ISA could transfer their full balance to a Lifetime ISA as a transitional measure. However, any such transfers made from 2018-19 onwards are subject to the Lifetime ISA’s annual subscription limit of £4,000. This restriction is in place to ensure that the ISA regime remains simple and sustainable for consumers and providers alike. However, it is possible that a Help to Buy:ISA with a balance over £4,000 can be transferred in stages over multiple years. The Help to Buy: ISA scheme’s property price cap of £250,000 for properties outside London (£450,000 within London) allows the Government to target support more precisely at the people the scheme is intended to help. The latest statistics show that since the scheme was launched in 2015, 460,567 property completions have been supported through the scheme with a mean property value of £175,680, compared to an average first-time buyer house price of £230,593. The Government has no current plans to amend the terms of the Help to Buy: ISA but keeps all aspects of savings policy under review.

National Savings Bonds: Environment Protection

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to make additional green saving bonds available through National Savings & Investments in 2022.

John Glen: In October 2021, National Savings & Investments (NS&I) launched a first issue of Green Savings Bonds to give retail savers across the UK the chance to back the Government’s green projects and put their money to work in the fight against climate change. This first issue had a rate of 0.65% gross/AER fixed over a three-year term. In February 2022, NS&I repriced Green Savings Bonds through a second issue at 1.30% gross/AER fixed over a three-year term. This second issue remains on sale to UK retail customers. NS&I and HM Treasury continue to monitor demand for this product. The retail Green Savings Bonds are part of the UK’s Green Financing Programme, under which the UK also issues sovereign green bonds (or ‘green gilts’) to institutional investors. The Government has announced that it plans to raise a further £10bn via green gilts in the 2022-23 financial year.

Help to Buy Scheme

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help those with a Help to Buy ISA benefit from the discount rate, which is at £250,000 housing value, to purchase a property.

John Glen: The Help to Buy: ISA scheme aims to help those struggling to save enough to get onto the housing ladder. First-time buyers who choose to save through a Help to Buy: ISA will be eligible for a government bonus when purchasing their first home, provided that the value of the property does not exceed £250,000 outside London (£450,000 within London) and that they meet the scheme’s other eligibility criteria. The Government provides a 25 per cent bonus based on the account holder’s balance with a maximum bonus value of £3,000. The property price caps under the scheme allow the Government to target support at the people the scheme is intended to help. The latest statistics show that since the scheme was launched in 2015, 460,567 property completions have been supported through the scheme with a mean property value of £175,680, compared to an average first-time buyer house price of £230,593. In addition to the Help to Buy: ISA, The Government has introduced a number of measures to further support homeownership, including the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, mortgage guarantee scheme, Shared Ownership schemes, and the First Homes scheme. Each scheme has its own eligibility criteria and more information on each scheme can be found on the Own Your Home (HM Government) website: https://www.ownyourhome.gov.uk/

Help to Buy Scheme: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of potential reforms to the Help to Buy ISA that would benefit house buyers in York.

John Glen: While the Government keeps all aspects of savings policy under review, the Help to Buy: ISA scheme aims to help those struggling to save enough to get onto the housing ladder at the lower end of the market. The property price cap of £250,000 for those properties outside London (£450,000 within London) therefore allows the Government to target support at the people the scheme is intended to help across the country.The latest statistics show that since the scheme was launched in 2015, 460,567 property completions have been supported through the scheme with a mean property value of £175,680, compared to an average first-time buyer house price of £230,593. In Yorkshire and The Humber specifically, 32,939 property completions have been supported through the scheme with a mean property value of £149,197.

Help to Buy Scheme

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support his Department is providing to savers with a Help to Buy ISA so that they can access the Help to Buy ISA discount where they plan to purchase a property in the context of the increase in average property prices since Help to Buy ISAs were set up.

John Glen: First-time buyers can continue to save through a Help to Buy: ISA (now closed to new accounts) when saving to get onto the property ladder. The Government provides a 25 per cent bonus based on the account holder’s balance with a maximum bonus value of £3,000. Those participating in the scheme can continue saving into their account until November 2029 and have until December 2030 to claim their bonus. As first-time buyers typically buy smaller (and therefore cheaper) first properties, the property price cap of £250,000 for those properties outside London (£450,000 within London) under the scheme therefore allows the government to target support at this lower end of the market and target support at the people the scheme is intended to help. The Government keeps all aspects of savings policy under review. The Government is committed to supporting people of all incomes and at all stages of life to save, particularly younger individuals and families saving for their first home, through a programme of ‘own your home’ schemes. As well as the Help to Buy: ISA scheme, the following Lifetime ISA scheme is part of a package of measures to help people to save for their first house deposit and increase the supply of low-deposit mortgages for credit-worthy households. In 2017, the government launched the Lifetime ISA (LISA) to support younger people saving for a first home or later life. Adults under 40 can open a LISA and save up to £4,000 each year until they turn 50. The government provides a generous 25 per cent bonus on all LISA contributions within these limits. These funds, including the government bonus, can be used as a deposit to purchase a first home up to the value of £450,000 anywhere in the UK. First-time buyers who hold a HTB: ISA account are able to transfer their savings to a Lifetime ISA without any penalties but the funds transferred will count towards their £4,000 annual limit for the LISA (and therefore cannot exceed this figure). The full list of Government schemes to help people own their own home is available here: https://www.ownyourhome.gov.uk/

Skrill: Russia

Alex Sobel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will hold discussions with representatives of Skrill of the potential merits of blocking people in Russia from using that financial service.

John Glen: HM Treasury and the UK regulatory authorities have proactively engaged with the financial services sector, including representatives of cryptoasset businesses, electronic money institutions and payment services providers, to ensure that the implications of the Russia sanctions are understood. Under the UK’s Money Laundering Regulations, cryptoasset businesses, electronic money institutions and payment service providers, such as Skrill, are expected to apply risk-sensitive customer due diligence measures in order to identify and verify the customer and understand the purpose behind their transactions, when considering the services they provide to current or potential customers. This includes checking that the customer is not subject to sanctions, and does not intend to use the services for criminal purposes, including assisting others in the evasion of sanctions. Risk assessments by firms must also include consideration of geographical risk factors, including the country where the customer is resident.

Financial Services: Regulation

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Future Regulatory Framework Review, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the representation of consumers on the financial regulators’ stakeholder panels.

John Glen: The government believes that it is vital that there are opportunities for interested stakeholders, including consumer groups and firms, to engage with and scrutinise the development of regulatory proposals. The regulators are required under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FMSA) 2000 to maintain stakeholder panels as part of their general duties to consult. These panels are intended to provide valuable insight, advice and challenge across the regulators’ functions, drawing on the experience and expertise of their respective memberships. The November 2021 Future Regulatory Framework (FRF) Review consultation proposed a number of measures to enhance the role of the panels and ensure that they represent a diverse range of stakeholders, and that the regulators are transparent about where they have engaged the panels, while maintaining their crucial role as a ‘critical friend’ The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) currently engages with five independent stakeholder panels. The FCA Consumer Panel specifically represents the interests of consumers. The panel also has the ability to communicate its views to the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) on any matter the panel considers relevant.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Mozambique: Gas Fired Power Stations

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to its analysis of viable renewable energy alternatives to the CTT gas-fired power plant, for what reason CDC did not consider the option of Mozambique negotiating additional access to cheap power from the HCB hydroelectric dam.

Amanda Milling: Globeleq's analysis of the Temane project included Paris alignment analysis conducted using BII's gas guidance tool. Globeleq considered whether viable renewables alternatives existed, including additional energy from the HCB hydroelectric dam. However, Globeleq concluded that there were no viable renewable energy alternatives for the energy required by Mozambique that Temane will supply.Temane is central to Mozambique's energy transition. Its flexible technological operating configuration and the interconnecting transmission line allows for greater penetration of intermittent renewables across Mozambique's grids over time. This includes the various solar, wind and battery projects Globeleq is developing in country (such as the pioneering Cuamba solar + battery project, which is also in construction). Furthermore, Temane is technologically capable - from day one - to transition to green hydrogen fuel when that becomes available.

Asylum: Rwanda

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether funds allocated by her Department to the Government of Rwanda under the terms of the UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership announced on 14 April 2022 will be counted as Official Development Assistance.

James Cleverly: The funding for the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda is not from the Official Development Assistance budget.

Members: Correspondence

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will ask the Minister for Europe and North America to review correspondence from the hon. Member of Falkirk dated 1 March 2022 regarding an 88 year old man who seeks to be reunited with his partner in Canada.

James Cleverly: I [Minister Cleverly] responded to the referenced correspondence from the hon. Member of Falkirk dated 1 March 2022 on 14 April 2022.

Somaliland: Diplomatic Relations

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2022 to Question 139505, what steps she is taking to convene discussions between Somaliland, the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and neighbours in the region on the recognition of Somaliland as an independent state; and what recent assessment she has made of the barriers that remain to the UK granting Somaliland diplomatic recognition.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government's position on recognition has not changed, and is consistent with the entire international community, which does not recognise Somaliland's unilateral declaration of independence. As stated in the answer of PQ 139505, it is for Somaliland and the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) to come to any agreement about their future relationship. Any new arrangements would need to be recognised by the African Union and neighbours in the region. The UK continues to encourage dialogue between Mogadishu and Hargeisa on this issue.

Russia: Sanctions

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish a list of people sanctioned under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, broken down by those (a) resident in the UK, (b) having ever lived in the UK and (c) holding assets in the UK.

James Cleverly: Details of all sanctioned individuals and entities are listed on the UK sanctions list, which can be found on gov.uk here [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-sanctions-consolidated-list-of-targets?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=3ca20436-bbb9-43c0-95c9-40e4a3b404ec&utm_content=immediately].We cannot disclose information on residency status or information regarding UK assets of those on the sanctions list. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) publishes an Annual Review which releases details of the total value of frozen funds held in the UK.

Ukraine: Russia

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what powers the Government has to issue sanctions against companies in third countries that are supporting Russia's war in Ukraine.

James Cleverly: In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine we have announced an unprecedented package of sanctions to cut off the funding and support for Putin's war machine. UK sanctions apply to any individual or entity in the UK, and to any UK individual or entity globally. The UK's sanctions therefore apply to multinationals' UK operations, as well as any relevant economic activity involving a UK person.

Ukraine: Development Aid

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what projects in Ukraine have been funded with Overseas Development Assistance in each of the last eight years.

James Cleverly: Due to the security situation in Ukraine, we have temporarily removed potentially sensitive information from our Official Development Assistance (ODA) project monitoring systems to ensure the safety of partners. The most common sectors for ODA projects in Ukraine have been; Civilian peace-building, conflict prevention and resolution; Human Rights; Ending violence against women and girls; and Anti-Corruption organisations and institutions.

United Russia: Sanctions

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of adding all members of Vladimir Putin's political party, United Russia, to the UK's financial sanctions regime.

James Cleverly: We do not speculate on future sanctions. However, we have made clear that we will continue to increase pressure on Putin's regime to ensure he is unable to fuel his barbaric war machine. Nothing and no one is off the table. We have now sanctioned over 1400 individuals, entities and subsidiaries since Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The ultimate objective is to ensure that Putin fails in Ukraine. The whole of the UK government, along with our international allies, is working to ensure that happens.

Afghanistan: Education

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make representations to the Taliban leadership on allowing all girls to return to school immediately.

James Cleverly: The Government has made clear its condemnation of the Taliban's decision not to re-open girls' secondary schools, including through statements from the G7+, female Foreign Ministers and the UN Security Council. Women in Afghanistan, and Afghan women in the UK diaspora, demand that girls' right to education be upheld, and we stand with them. As the Prime Minister has said several times, we are working to hold the Taliban to account to ensure that they live up to the promises they have made. With our international partners, we continue to press the Taliban to reverse this decision.

Sanctions: Russia

Dr Jamie Wallis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential use of human rights legislation by Russian oligarchs to circumvent sanctions.

James Cleverly: In response to Putin's assault on Ukraine we have introduced the largest and most severe economic sanctions that Russia has ever faced, targeting Putin's war machine. Since the invasion we have sanctioned over 1400 individuals and businesses/entities. We are targeting oligarchs close to Putin without fear or favour, and we will continue to do so.In making designations under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA) the Government is required to act in accordance with rights conferred by the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998. SAMLA provides designated persons with a right to review their designation and designated persons are able to challenge that decision in UK courts.

Asylum: Rwanda

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government will use Official Development Assistance to fund offshore asylum processing centres in Rwanda.

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the economic development partnership with Rwanda as part of the Home Office's offshore processing plans will be paid for with funds from the Official Development Assistance budget.

James Cleverly: The funding for the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda is not from the Official Development Assistance budget.

British Nationals Abroad: EU Countries

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what mechanisms her Department has in place to monitor the number of UK citizens overstaying the term of their visa when visiting an EU country.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what data her Department holds on how many UK citizens have (a) applied for and (b) been granted Class C visas in order to visit an EU country since January 2021; and how many of those citizens subsequently overstayed the time limit of those visas.

James Cleverly: The EU has legislated such that British citizens do not need a visa when travelling to and within the Schengen Area for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. This applies to all British citizens travelling to and within the Schengen Area for activities including attending cultural or sports events and tourism.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not hold information centrally on the numbers of British citizens who have applied for or been granted Schengen visas or how many have overstayed the term of their visa when visiting a Schengen State.

Duaa Alwadaei

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the British Ambassador will attend the trial on 3 April 2022 in Bahrain of Duaa Alwadaei, the British-Bahraini wife of human rights defender, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei.

Amanda Milling: Our Embassy in Bahrain is aware of Mrs Alwadaei's case and is following the situation closely. We have given her family details of the consular assistance available.

Mozambique: Gas Fired Power Stations

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of CDC Group's support for the export-orientated gas power CTT project in Mozambique with the UK’s overseas fossil fuel policy which states that export projects should not receive financing.

Amanda Milling: The project has been assessed as Paris aligned and meets the criteria for limited exclusions of HMG's fossil fuel policy for selective gas to power investments. Temane's power is fully contracted with the Mozambican state utility company, Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM), which supplies electricity to users across Mozambique. EdM, like seventeen other utilities in Southern Africa, is also part of the regional Southern African Power Pool. Electricity from any of Mozambique's plants, including Temane, will likely be exported to regional neighbours at some points, and at other times Mozambique will import electricity. The Power Pool is vital for meeting the needs of businesses and consumers across the region who suffer from acute peak-period power shortages and load shedding today.The HMG fossil fuel policy prohibition on exports relates to the infrastructure for export of fossil fuels into global markets (such as liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals for gas exported to European or Asian markets).

Somaliland: Fires

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussion she has with her international counterparts on providing support to Somaliland to deal with the impact of the fire at the Hargeisa market.

Vicky Ford: We were greatly saddened by the news of the fire at Hargesia market, which caused injuries and extensive damage to businesses. Our thoughts are with the people who have been affected. The UK is leading diplomatic and development response efforts on the ground. We have established, and are chairing, an international community coordination group, which is working with the Somaliland authorities to identify the necessary response.

Mubarak Bala

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to introduce Magnitsky sanctions against the prosecutors and judge involved in the imprisonment of the President of the Nigerian Humanist Association, Mubarak Bala.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government has followed Mr Bala's case closely, and are concerned by the severity and length of sentence received by Mr Bala at trial. We do not speculate on potential future sanctions designations as to do so may undermine their effectiveness.We will continue to follow developments in Mr Bala's case closely and stress the importance of Mr Bala being treated in full accordance with his human rights, the rule of law, and the Nigerian constitutional right to freedom of religion or belief.

Bala Mubarak

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department plans to engage with the Government of Nigeria on the recent sentencing of Mubarak Bala, President of the Nigerian Humanist Association, to 24 years in prison for expressing his humanist beliefs on Facebook.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government has followed Mr Bala's case closely, and has raised his case on multiple occasions with the Nigerian authorities, including following his recent sentencing. We believe that the right of individuals to express opinions is essential to a free and open society.We are concerned by the severity and length of sentence received by Mr Bala at trial. The British High Commissioner has expressed these concerns to the Kano State Government and the Nigerian President's Chief of Staff. We will continue to follow developments in Mr Bala's case closely and stress the importance of Mr Bala being treated in full accordance with his human rights, the rule of law, and the Nigerian constitutional right to freedom of religion or belief.

Mubarak Bala

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Nigerian Government on the imprisonment of Mubarak Bala.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government has followed Mr Bala's case closely, and has raised his case on multiple occasions with the Nigerian authorities, including following his recent sentencing. We believe that the right of individuals to express opinions is essential to a free and open society.We are concerned by the severity and length of sentence received by Mr Bala at trial. The British High Commissioner has expressed these concerns to the Kano State Government and the Nigerian President's Chief of Staff. We will continue to follow developments in Mr Bala's case closely and stress the importance of Mr Bala being treated in full accordance with his human rights, the rule of law, and the Nigerian constitutional right to freedom of religion or belief.

Developing Countries: Coronavirus

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the UK meets its £1billion fair share towards the costs of purchasing (a) vaccines, (b) tests, (c) treatment and (d) PPE in low and middle income counties required by ACT-A.

Amanda Milling: The UK has consistently championed global access to COVID-19 medical products to help end the pandemic as quickly as possible and has committed up to £1.4 billion to help end the pandemic and address its impacts. This includes up to £813 million of new UK Aid to ACT-Accelerator partners and up to £105 million of additional support announced in December 2021 to help vulnerable countries respond to the Omicron variant. Our 100 million dose-donation target is also part of one billion doses G7 leaders committed to share and finance during the UK's G7 Presidency.The UK is working with international partners to develop more long-term, sustainable approaches to financing to help the world live with COVID-19 and protect against future variants.

Conversion Therapy

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to encourage other countries to ban conversion therapy.

Amanda Milling: The UK government is fully committed to ending the practice of Conversion Therapy. The UK, as current co-chairs of the Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) a grouping of 42 countries working to advance LGBTI equality, led on the drafting of the ERC's first five year Strategy. The Strategy launched in July 2021 and includes a commitment for all ERC Member States to work collaboratively to advance ending Conversion Therapy.

Rwanda: Immigration Controls

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with (a) the International Organisation for Migration, (b) states neighbouring Rwanda and (c) the African Union in relation to the impacts of the Government’s plans to establish a migrant deportation policy with Rwanda; and what assessment she has made of the impact of the Government’s plans to establish a migrant deportation policy with Rwanda on perceptions of the UK across the continent of Africa.

Amanda Milling: Due to the need for discretion during sensitive policy, legal and financial negotiations, no discussions on the Migration and Economic Development Partnership were held with the International Organisation for Migration, States neighbouring Rwanda, or the African Union.This new Migration and Economic Development Partnership is a world first and a major milestone in breaking the business model of people smuggling gangs. Rwanda and the United Kingdom are likeminded partners in their desire to tackle the global migration crisis and their track record in hosting refugees. There is a global responsibility to prioritise the safety and well-being of migrants, and Rwanda welcomes this partnership with the United Kingdom to host asylum seekers and migrants, and offer them legal pathways to residence. This is about ensuring that people are protected, respected, and empowered to further their own ambitions and settle permanently in Rwanda if they choose.

Papua: Visits Abroad

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the outcome was of the visit in March 2022 to West Papua by a delegation from the British Embassy in Jakarta.

Amanda Milling: A team from the British Embassy in Jakarta visited Papua in March where they met with government officials and police, local businesses, civil society, academia and religious leaders.The UK Government continues to support the efforts of the Indonesian authorities and civil society to address the needs and aspirations of the Papuan people. The UK fully respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia and regards the provinces of Papua and West Papua as an integral part of Indonesia.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2022 to Question 148224, on Coronavirus: Vaccination, what quantities of (a) AstraZeneca and (b) mRNA vaccines the UK (i) has donated and (ii) plans to donate to other countries through (A) COVAX and (B) bilateral country donations.

Amanda Milling: As of 20 April 2022, the UK has delivered over 60.2 million COVID-19 vaccines (AstraZeneca and Janssen). 53.5 million of these have gone to COVAX for allocation and distribution in line with their fair allocation model, while 6.7 million have gone bilaterally.We have offered 100 million doses for donation but global supply has increased considerably. Many low-income countries have limited capacity to deploy COVID vaccines and face other pressing health challenges to be tackled with limited health resources. We will continue to facilitate donations, including of mRNA vaccines, where there is demand and countries have the capacity to manage them.

Ministry of Defence

Navy: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which companies which put forward bids for the Special Purpose Vessel contract for Navy X.

Jeremy Quin: It is not normal practice to release the names of unsuccessful bidders without their permission.However, the procurement exercise resulted in two tenders being submitted within the pricing envelope and which delivered the technical requirements detailed by the Royal Navy. Following completion of the tender exercise the contract was awarded to Damen Workboats BV.

Military Bases: Expenditure

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent (a) on its overseas permanent bases and (b) in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales in 2021.

Jeremy Quin: The data to answer this question is being drawn from across multiple areas of Defence and will take longer to review and collate. I will write to the hon. Member with a full answer as soon as the information is available.

Ministry of Defence: Scotland

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what surplus land in Scotland his Department has disposed of in each of the last five years; who the buyer of each of those areas of land was; and how much was paid for each of those areas of land.

Jeremy Quin: The names, locations, property descriptions and sale years for sites disposed of in Scotland from 2017 to 2022 are listed below: Establishment NameProperty DescriptionSale Year (By Financial Year)STRATHCLYDE VOLUNTEER ESTATEDisposal Part ATC Site, Hillington Park2017LTPA LOCH GOILRemaining Land 0.164 to Community 0.046 to Castle Carrick2018KIRKCUDBRIGHT TRAINING AREA25 sq m site for electricity sub station with associated servitude rights for overhead and underground cabling2018GPSS LINKSWOODPart of field south of redundant GPSS site Linkswood2018GPSS LINKSWOODAmenity land north of redundant GPSS site Linkswood2018VULCAN NAVAL REACTOR TEST ESTABLISHMENTFormer family quarter2018VULCAN NAVAL REACTOR TEST ESTABLISHMENTService Family Accommodation2018VULCAN NAVAL REACTOR TEST ESTABLISHMENTSingle Living Accommodation2018GPSS TURRIFFRedundant GPSS site Turriff2019GPSS LINKSWOODRedundant GPSS site, Linkswood2019GPSS HEATHFIELDRedundant GPSS site, Heathfield2019GPSS FORFARRedundant GPSS site, Forfar2019LEUCHARS STATIONTelecommunications Site, Outhmuir2019GRAMPIAN VOLUNTEER ESTATESurplus land to rear of Army Reserve Centre2019MOD CALEDONIASolum of Foreshore and Seabed2020RRS SAXA VORDOld Radar Station, Vallafield RAF2020GARELOCHEAD TRAINING AREALand at Feorlinbreck and Carpark/Playpark at Upland Wynd, Garelochhead2021 The purchaser details and sale prices for the disposed sites has been withheld in view of the contractual confidentiality.

Merlin Helicopters: Procurement

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Merlin AW101 Helicopters have been (a) purchased by his Department and (b) are currently in service; and what plans he has to increase the helicopter fleet to help meet the operational requirements of the new Carrier Strike, Type 31 and Type 45 ships.

Jeremy Quin: The Ministry of Defence have purchased a total of 72 Merlin Helicopters, of these, 55 Merlin remain in service. The 2021 Integrated Review approved an extension to the out of service date for the Merlin from 2029-30 to 2040 and there are ongoing plans to modernise the overcall helicopter fleet available to HM Armed Forces, but there are no current plans to increase its size.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to tender for the new contract for the Armed Forces Recruitment Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his policy for it to be mandatory for all three Armed Services to participate in the new Armed Forces Recruitment Programme.

Leo Docherty: Following a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) process, the Armed Forces Recruiting Programme (AFRP) announced on 11 April that it was inviting four bidders to participate in competitive dialogue with the winning bidder set to deliver the tri-Service recruiting solution for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. The contract will be awarded in 2024 for Service Commencement in April 2025.The Armed Forces Recruiting Programme will bring together all three single-Service recruiting mechanisms under a single prime contract, delivering an end-to-end fully converged, tri-Service future recruiting solution underpinned by a single digital platform.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the data breach in respect of the defence recruitment system took place; and what estimate he has made of the number of candidates who have had personal data stolen as a result of that breach.

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date the recent data breach of the defence recruitment system was first reported to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date his Department reported the recent data breach in the Defence Recruiting System to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Leo Docherty: On Monday 14 March 2022, Army HQ were made aware of a breach of information in relation to potential Army candidate data. The breach related to 124 potential candidates whose accounts had been accessed on 13 March.After an initial investigation to assess and understand the extent and nature of the data breach, the MOD submitted the formal Breach Notification to the Information Commissioner's Office on Monday 21 March 2022 at 1100.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total through-life value is of the contract with Capita for the Army defence recruitment system.

Leo Docherty: The total value of the Army's recruitment contract with Capita is £903,239. This covers the period March 2012 to March 2024.

Clyde Naval Base and RNAD Coulport: Navy

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of uniformed Royal Navy personnel based at (a) Faslane and (b) Coulport are Scottish taxpayers.

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of civilian employees who are not contractors based at (a) Faslane and (b) Coulport are Scottish taxpayers.

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of uniformed contractors based at (a) Faslane and (b) Coulport are Scottish taxpayers.

Leo Docherty: The requested figures cannot easily be disaggregated due to the format the data is held in and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, it will be the case that anyone who works at these locations and has a Scottish address will pay tax in Scotland. It is estimated that c.90% of staff working at these sites will be Scottish taxpayers.

Army: Resignations

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many soldiers left the regular Army in each of the last five years.

Leo Docherty: Regular Army outflow is published on the gov.uk website within the quarterly Service Personnel statistics and can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2022

Army: Labour Turnover

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many soldiers (a) joined and (b) left the Army Reserve in each of the last five years.

Leo Docherty: Information relating to Army Reserve inflow and outflow is published on the gov.uk website within the quarterly Service Personnel statistics and can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2022

Ukraine: Refugees

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of using surplus accommodation on his Department's sites as temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees.

Leo Docherty: Formal approaches can be made to the Ministry of Defence for the leasing of void housing stock and requests made by Local Authorities for the use of military housing for Ukrainian refugee relocation and resettlement purposes are being handled in a similar way to the Defence Afghan Relocation and Resettlement Programme (ARAP). When formal requests are received for Defence to assist with accommodation for Ukrainian refugees, they are considered in line with Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) principles.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what date her Department made the most recent equality impact assessment of (a) the benefit cap and (b) local housing allowance rates.

David Rutley: The Impact Assessment of the benefit cap was published on 26 August 2016 and can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/welfare-reform-and-work-act-impact-assessment-for-the-benefit-cap.The Secretary of State has complied with her duties under the Equality Act 2010 and had due regard to the equality impacts of the benefit cap for example in respect of the Covid 19 policy changes. There is no requirement to record or publish this in the form of an equality impact assessment and we do not intend to publish the analysis. In November 2021 the Secretary of State considered the equality impacts of the decision to maintain Local Housing Allowance rates in 2022/23 at the elevated cash rates agreed for 2020/21. Following PQ UIN 120618, a copy of the equality analysis was placed in the House of Commons library.

Housing Benefit: Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the under occupancy charge will be removed in the event that a previously unoccupied room is occupied by Ukrainian refugees hosted under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

David Rutley: Under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme the Ukrainian nationals are treated as not normally residing with their host. This means that there is no change to the number of bedrooms which the claimant is entitled to under the removal of the spare room subsidy or the Local Housing Allowance. We are grateful to those playing their part in supporting Ukrainians fleeing the invasion and have ensured that the £350 a month ‘thank you’ payment will not affect the benefits payments of claimants who have generously provided a spare room.

Children: Maintenance

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of parents who are required to pay child maintenance but are failing to meet that requirement.

Guy Opperman: Child Maintenance Service (CMS) compliance statistics for Paying Parents are published quarterly and can be found in “Table 2: Compliance (Collect and Pay) by quarter” of the “CMS Paying Parents” section of Stat-Xplore here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Children: Maintenance

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of parents in receipt of child maintenance who have (a) contacted the Child Maintenance Service about late payment and (b) successfully received full payment of arrears.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost to the Department.

Employment and Support Allowance

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many letters have been sent from her Department in the last 12 months that ask GPs to no longer provide their patients who claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) with fit notes, as they have been found fit for work by the DWP.

Chloe Smith: We have taken your question to refer to the ESA65B letter which is normally automatically issued to GPs by the Department’s IT system in every case where an Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimant has been found ‘fit for work’ following a Work Capability Assessment (WCA). If a claimant states that they do not agree to information about the determination of their WCA being shared with their GP, the claim will be maintained clerically and the papers noted that the letter is not to be issued. A revised version of the ESA65B letter went live in June 2019. The revised letter states the circumstances in which fit notes are required including to support Employment and Support Allowance appeals, where a claimant’s condition has worsened or if the claimant has developed a new health condition or disability. The Department does not hold information on the number of ESA65B letters sent to GPs. The latest ESA statistics, which show the number of claimants found fit for work, can be found here: ESA: Work Capability Assessments, Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals: March 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Kickstart Scheme

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many young people have benefited from the Kickstart programme since that programme was first launched.

Mims Davies: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to PQ 149447 for the most recent data on the Kickstart Scheme.

Pesticides: Safety

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will review whether Brodifacoum is safe and appropriate to be using in the open countryside.

Chloe Smith: Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs), including brodifacoum, were developed to address public health and other concerns arising from increasing resistance among rats and mice to the longstanding use of existing rodenticides. During the authorisation process, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducts rigorous evaluation for safety and efficacy using scientific data, with restrictions placed on authorisations as appropriate. In order to avoid secondary poisoning risks to non-target species, current product authorisations restrict the use of SGARs in open areas to farmers, gamekeepers and other trained professionals where other integrated pest management approaches fail to control rodent populations. Some SGARs, including brodifacoum, can only be used in sewers and in and around buildings. There has been no change in the authorised areas of use of brodifacoum products since the renewals of their authorisations from 2017. A stewardship regime is in place in the UK for professional use of SGARs, including brodifacoum. A cornerstone of the stewardship scheme is the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) Code of Best Practice, which sets out guidance on the safe use of rodenticides. It is a legal requirement to comply with this code. The stewardship scheme is overseen by a Government Oversight Group (GOG) led by HSE with representatives of other government stakeholders, who meet annually to assess its impact. This year the GOG is conducting a review of the stewardship scheme after five years of operation and will publish its findings in due course. The review will look at the performance of the scheme in three key areas: the governance of the supply chain, improving workforce competence and the monitoring of compliance. The latter includes considering the monitoring of exposure arrangements and looking in more detail at monitoring data.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dogs: Smuggling

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on puppy smuggling and similar crimes of introducing visual checks on dogs and other animals entering the country via the Pet Travel Scheme.

Victoria Prentis: We operate one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe. All non-commercial cats, dogs and ferrets entering Great Britain on approved routes (every route other than Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies) under the pet travel rules undergo 100% documentary and identity checks by authorised pet checkers. To enter Great Britain pets must have been implanted with a microchip or have a legible tattoo imprinted prior to 3 July 2011. A pet's identity is checked by ensuring that the microchip or tattoo details correspond to the details in the pet's documentation. Carriers can refer suspected non-compliances to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). APHA staff are highly trained to deal with intercepted shipments. APHA works collaboratively with Border Force and other operational partners at ports, airports and inland, sharing intelligence to enforce the pet travel rules, disrupt illegal imports, safeguard the welfare of animals and seize non-compliant animals. The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June 2021 and will progress as soon as parliamentary time allows. The Bill allows us to further protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain and includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.

Food: Waste

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) work with businesses and food producers to reduce food waste and (b) raise public awareness about food waste and how it can be reduced.

Jo Churchill: This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. The Government has invested £3.5m in the last year to combat food waste. That includes funding the Waste and Resources Action Plan (WRAP) and through them we work to address food waste in households and supply chains. We support the Courtauld 2030 Commitment, a voluntary agreement with industry to tackle food waste, which includes a target of a 50% per capita reduction in food waste by 2030 against a 2007 baseline. Action through Courtauld includes working with businesses to measure and reduce food waste through the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap and the key tool to Target Measure and Act on waste. Courtauld signatories also play a key role in providing consumers with support in reducing food waste at home for instance through offering storage advice and appropriate labelling. https://wrap.org.uk/taking-action/food-drink/initiatives/courtauld-commitment The Government also funds WRAP’s citizen campaigns such as Food Waste Action Week and Love Food Hate Waste, which aim to raise public awareness of food waste and the ways in which citizens can reduce it. This includes advice on how to shop for, store and cook foods in ways that minimise waste. https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/ From 2025 the Government also plans to introduce separate weekly food waste collections for every household in England. Research has shown that helping people to understand what they throw away can help them to cut down on food waste.

Recycling: Metals

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the development of zero emission technology for the metals recycling sector.

Jo Churchill: The Government has allocated £30 million for research funding through UK Research and Innovation for a four-year programme, launched in January 2021, to establish five circular economy research centres and a central hub. One of the five centres, The Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Metal, aims to help the UK become the first country to fully recycle and reuse its metals. Other Government funding, made available through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, includes: The creation of the £289 million Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) and the £34 million Scottish IETF to support industrial sites, including metal recycling facilities, to decarbonise and become more energy efficient. We have recently promoted this funding opportunity with the British Metals Recycling Association.Provision of up to £66 million as part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, to help key foundation industries, such as steel, develop innovative technology to reduce energy and resource use.Funding of long-term work at the Materials Processing Institute in Teesside to help the UK steel and metals sector improve efficiencies, reduce emissions, and boost competitiveness.

Metals: Port of Tyne

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what studies have been carried out on the environmental impact of (a) zinc and (b) lead contaminants between Walker Quay and the upper reaches of the River Tyne.

Jo Churchill: Metals from abandoned mines impact water quality and aquatic wildlife in more than 150 kilometres of the South Tyne catchment, and these metals ultimately accumulate in the Tyne estuary sediments. The Environment Agency (EA) has investigated the environmental impacts of zinc and lead from historic mine activity in the upper reaches of the River Tyne, particularly in the Rivers Nent and West Allen, which are two of the most metal-polluted rivers in England. EA surveys in 2017 and 2018 showed populations of brown trout in the River Nent were about half that of a similar, unpolluted, control catchment. EA studies of river-flies (invertebrates) in the Nent and West Allen catchments also found decreased abundance and variety. The concentrations of zinc in the River Nent are high enough to be acutely toxic to fish but the brown trout appear to have adapted after two centuries of exposure. The EA is working in partnership with the Coal Authority and Defra to implement measures to control inputs of metals in the Tyne headwaters as part of the Water and Abandoned Metal Mines Programme. In 2022/23, construction of the Nent Haggs mine water treatment scheme will be completed; once fully operational in 2023, this should capture up to 3 tonnes of zinc and cadmium each year and improve water quality in 60km of rivers. Other measures are being developed to stop metals polluting the River South Tyne and decrease the amount of metals that accumulate in Tyne estuary sediments. We are currently consulting on a target to reduce the length of rivers pollution by metals from Abandoned Metal Mines by 50% by 2037 in the Environment Act Targets consultation. This will include zinc and lead pollution.

Fertilisers: Prices

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the increasing rise in the price of fertiliser.

Jo Churchill: Agricultural commodity prices are closely linked to global gas prices. Farmers are facing increased input costs, including for fertiliser, feed and fuel. We are monitoring the situation closely, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group. Defra is in regular contact with key industry figures including the National Farmers Union (NFU), the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and key sector representatives. The Government announced on 30 March a number of actions to help mitigate the current issues and support farmers and growers ahead of the next growing season. These included changes to statutory guidance to the Environment Agency on how they should implement the "Farming Rules for Water" to provide clarity to farmers on how they can use slurry and other manures during autumn and winter to meet agronomic needs; increased grants funding to help farmers and growers boost research and development; and a delay to changes to the use of urea by at least a year. When the urea restrictions are introduced, they will be related to the use of ammonia inhibitors rather than a complete ban. We recognise that fertiliser pressures on the livestock and arable sectors may differ, particularly over the farming seasons. On 31 March Minister Prentis hosted the first meeting of the Fertiliser Taskforce with key industry bodies to discuss potential mitigations to the challenges which global supply pressures are causing. Ministers will continue to meet with key industry bodies for further Fertiliser Taskforce sessions in the coming months, to help identify and mitigate potential risks. Support in the form of guidance from fertiliser suppliers and agricultural organisations such as NFU can be found from various public sources. Defra is aware that AHDB have published many helpful public pieces of guidance, advice and webinar recordings on mitigating high fertiliser prices. They can be found on the AHDB website.

Home Office

Rwanda: Immigration Controls

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that allocations of ODA to Rwanda promote efficacy and value for public money in the implementation of UK development goals; and if she will publish evidence to demonstrate that offers of (a) ODA and (b) other development funding to Rwanda were not made as part of negotiations to establish a migrant deportation policy.

Tom Pursglove: Under the Migration and Economic Development Partnership between the UK and Rwanda, we have announced a new Economic Transformation and Integration Fund to boost the development of Rwanda. Rwanda will be responsible for allocating this funding to achieve its development goals, including creating jobs, improving livelihoods, increasing productivity, boosting trade and ensuring long-term sustainable development.The funding for the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda is separate from, and additional to, the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget. It complements the UK and Rwanda’s existing collaboration on a range of priorities including girls’ education, building back from COVID-19 and climate change, and it will bolster our longstanding development partnership focused on green growth and trade, building human capital and supporting effective, accountable institutions.Funding will be provided separately to support the delivery of asylum operations, accommodation and integration, similar to the costs incurred in the UK for these services.

Windrush Lessons Learned Review

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Recommendation 6 of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, what progress her Department has made on a comprehensive learning and development programme.

Kevin Foster: Responding to the findings of the Wendy Williams review is a departmental priority. The Home Office sought to address both the letter and the spirit of Wendy’s findings, by developing a bespoke learning offer, rather than purchasing ‘off-the-shelf learning products’ or relying on centrally available learning products. This is a complex programme which has necessitated an extensive programme of activity to deliver alongside a thorough learning needs analysis.Recommendation 6 learning materials are in the final stages. The training will cover the history of the UK and its relationship with the rest of the world, including content on migration and its history, legacies of empire and colonialization. It will be delivered to staff via a blend of online materials and a workshop, accompanied by supporting reflective materials.We have taken the time to robustly test the learning via pilots last year and content is being iterated to reflect the findings prior to its launch from Spring / Summer 2022.

Visas: Ukraine

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that existing Ukrainian students in the UK can sponsor their family members to come to the UK.

Kevin Foster: Individuals with at least six months’ permission to be in the UK can sponsor Ukrainians under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, provided they meet the eligibility criteria.

Passports: Applications

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the amount of information provided in respect of waiting times for passport applications prior to people starting applications, including when applications from multiple children are interlinked.

Kevin Foster: Due to COVID-19, over 5 million people delayed applying for a British passport during 2020 and 2021. In preparation for the demand for international travel returning, since April 2021 we have been advising people to allow up to ten weeks when applying for their passport. This remains the case.Until recently, Her Majesty’s Passport Office published additional guidance showing the typical processing times for applications that had been completed in the previous week. However, customer feedback indicated these timeframes were being conflated with the need to allow up to ten weeks and, in response, additional guidance is no longer published.

Domestic Abuse Act 2021

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish her latest timetable for the publication of statutory guidance relating to the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

Rachel Maclean: The Government is committed to tackling domestic abuse and will issue guidance to support stakeholders in understanding the wide-ranging definition of domestic abuse introduced by the landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021. The guidance aims to assist with the identification of domestic abuse and convey set standards and best practice for agency and multi-agency response. Those exercising public functions to whom the guidance relates will have a legal obligation to have regard to it.We published an early draft guidance document while the Domestic Abuse Bill was progressing through Parliament. Following a required statutory consultation process, which ran from 3 August to 14 September, we have carefully considered the valuable responses received and made updates to the document. We are now finalising the statutory guidance and plan to issue it in due course. In parallel, we are updating the Statutory Guidance on Controlling or Coercive Behaviour which will be published later this year.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of adding HGV drivers to the shortage occupation list.

Kevin Foster: As my previous answer from 26 November 2021 set out, Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) drivers are not an eligible occupation under the Skilled Worker route as they do not meet the required skill level and therefore cannot be placed on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). Being on the SOL does not exempt an occupation from the requirements, such as the skills threshold, of the Skilled Worker route. The Government intends to commission the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to undertake another review of the SOL this year, during which time, the logistics sector will be able to provide evidence for consideration by the MAC. The Department for Transport are leading measures to address shortages, including ramping up testing capacity, alongside encouraging employers to tackle longstanding issues in the sector through more investment in skills and training, along with better pay and working conditions (including facilities). These measures are a more effective solution to issues facing the sector, rather than immigration, especially given the current global shortage of drivers.

Visas: Russia

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who were the eight Russians on Tier 1 Investor visas who were recently sanctioned by the Government.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Russians sanctioned by the Government have been issued Tier 1 Investor visas since 2014.

Kevin Foster: We do not routinely comment on individual cases.As of 19th April, a total of 10 sanctioned Russian nationals have previously held at least one grant of Tier 1 (investor) leave, of these 7 either obtained an initial grant of leave or obtained further leave via the route after 2014.

Sexual Harassment

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her timeframe is for publishing the findings of the review into potential gaps in the law in respect of public sexual harassment, as set out in the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy in July 2021.

Rachel Maclean: Sexual harassment in public places is an appalling practice, which this Government is committed to tackling. Women and girls have the right to both be and feel safe on our streets.As set out in the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, published last July, we have been looking carefully at where there may be gaps in existing law and how a specific offence for public sexual harassment could address those.As a result of this work, last month we announced that by the summer recess we would launch a public consultation on whether there should be a new offence of public sexual harassment.In the VAWG Strategy we also committed to non-legislative actions to help tackle this issue. Following this, in December the College of Policing published a new advice product for police officers, advising them about the preventative strategies and criminal offences which they can use to respond to reports of various different types of public sexual harassment, and the Crown Prosecution Service will soon be publishing an updated version of its legal guidance on public order offences, to include specific material on public sexual harassment.In addition, on 1 March the Home Office launched the ‘Enough’ communications campaign, which seeks to change public attitudes and tolerance towards crimes such as public sexual harassment and help create an atmosphere in which women and girls can report such crimes to the police with confidence.

Windrush Lessons Learned Review

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to recommendation 3 of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, how many formal reconciliation events her Department has hosted.

Kevin Foster: Grassroots engagement has been key to delivering our messages to the people we know we need to reach.Since 2018, we have held over 200 engagement and outreach events across the country. These events include 120 one-to-one surgeries to help people apply for documentation to the Windrush Scheme and over 80 public community engagement events to raise awareness of the Windrush Schemes.In addition to our ongoing programme of engagement and outreach, we are working with an external mediation organisation who are consulting a wide range of stakeholders to design an effective programme of events in response to recommendation 3 of Wendy William’s Windrush Lessons Learned Review. Once this consultation phase ends, we expect to roll out the events later this year.

Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to review the powers of the Independent Chief of Borders and Immigration.

Kevin Foster: As outlined in the Comprehensive Improvement Plan, published in response to the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, the Department intends to appoint an independent reviewer to review the role and remit of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the asylum seeking children living in contingency accommodation have been there for (a) 35 days or less, (b) more than 35 days, (c) more than three months, (d) more than six months, (e) more than one year and (f) more than two years.

Kevin Foster: The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Data is published on a quarterly basis, with the latest information published 24 February 2022. The next quarterly figures are due to be released in May 2022. The Home Office does not publish a breakdown these statistics which disaggregates the number of asylum seekers accommodated in specific accommodation. These figures are not available in a reportable format and to provide the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers living in contingency accommodation have been there for (a) 35 days or less, (b) more than 35 days, (c) more than three months, (d) more than six months, (e) more than 12 months, (f) more than 18 months and (g) more than two years.

Kevin Foster: The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Data is published on a quarterly basis, with the latest information published 24 February 2022. The next quarterly figures are due to be released in May 2022. The Home Office does not publish a breakdown these statistics which disaggregates the number of asylum seekers accommodated in specific accommodation. These figures are not available in a reportable format and to provide the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Passports

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she reintroduce a facility to enable people to collect passports once they have been printed.

Kevin Foster: Customers using Her Majesty’s Passport Office’s Digital Premium Service collect their passport when attending their appointment held at a passport office, as their passport is printed using the low-volume facilities at the local site. For all other services, passports are printed at a central site and securely delivered to customers at their home address. There is no time advantage of sending a passport from our central print site to a passport office, and it is therefore a long-standing policy that customers using the standard service can only collect from a passport office in exceptional circumstances.

Police: Body Searches

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review into the search of Child Q, what steps she has taken to help ensure that race and ethnicity do not influence the decision to strip search (a) a child and (b) and adult.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to tackle race disproportionality in the use of strip searches on children.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children are not strip-searched without a parent, guardian or appropriate adult present.

Kit Malthouse: Strip search is one of the most intrusive powers available to the police and its use should not be a routine occurrence. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act Codes of Practice govern how the police should deploy this power. If the police judge it operationally necessary, then any strip search conducted on a child must be carried out by officers of the same sex, in private and with an appropriate adult present unless both the child and the appropriate adult agree otherwise and in line with safeguarding procedures.Nobody should be stopped and searched because of their race or ethnicity and safeguards exist to ensure that this does not happen, including statutory codes of practice, use of body worn video to increase accountability and extensive data collection. It is critical that we maintain public confidence in policing and as part of this we will be looking carefully at strengthening the system of local community scrutiny and the value of body-worn video, because transparency is vital.The MoJ are supporting a project with the National Police Chief’s Council with the aim of addressing the difference in experience of ethnic minority children and adults in police custody. A wide range of agencies and independent advisors have contributed to this work, which engages a number of police forces across the country and builds on existing initiatives in the workplace, including a dedicated Independent Strip Search Scrutiny Panel (ISSSP) in Norfolk & Suffolk Police.From December 2022 we will be including more detailed custody data in the annual Police Powers and Procedures statistical bulletin which will include data on whether an appropriate adult was called out for a detained child and the number of strip searches & Intimate searches carried out, broken down by age, gender, ethnicity, and offence type.Further work is underway for the collection of data during stop & searches on the use of strip search. Currently, the Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating this incident and it is vital we await their findings. However, we will consider all recommendations made for the Home Office as a result of these investigations very carefully.

Animals in Science Regulation Unit

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has she made of the impact of the Animals in Science Regulation Unit on the number of in-person inspections at establishments which conduct animal testing.

Kit Malthouse: The Regulator’s audit programme for compliance assurance purposes will be delivered in accordance with the requirements defined in the legislation. This includes unannounced visits to licensed establishments.The Regulator has strengthened its regulatory oversight and published its process of full system audits at: www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-research-technical-advice#process-and-standards-for-establishment-full-system-audits.The UK legal framework requires each Establishment that uses animals in science to have strong governance systems that are published in the Standard Conditions of licences found on the Regulator’s website at:www.gov.uk/guidance/research-and-testing-using-animals.

Pets: Theft

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the data for dog and cat thefts in each police force area in England and Wales for every year since 2010.

Kit Malthouse: We recognise the distress pet theft causes and are committed to preventing these cruel crimesThe Home Office does publish data on police recorded theft offences as part of the quarterly ONS ‘Crime in England and Wales’ statistics, but it does not separately identify the number of thefts for dogs and cats.However, information on the scale of pet theft was gathered as part of the Pet Theft Taskforce, which engaged a number of key organisations and experts in the field to shine a light on the existing evidence.The evidence included aggregated data from 33 police forces in England and Wales on trends in reported dog thefts since 2015 and is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pet-theft-taskforce-report/pet-theft-taskforce-report.As part of the taskforce we are working with the police to ensure these thefts are recorded in a consistent way and readily identifiable within forces’ information management systems.

Asylum: Rwanda

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has her Department made of the human rights situation in Rwanda before the Government entered into a partnership agreement on the hosting of asylum seekers in that country.

Tom Pursglove: We are confident that the Migration and Economic Development Partnership is fully compliant with domestic and international law, including human rights law. Rwanda is a State Party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the seven core UN Human Rights Conventions. It is recognised globally for its record on welcoming and integrating migrants, including over 500 people evacuated from Libya under the EU’s Emergency Transit Mechanism working in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency, and 30,000 Burundian refugees. Under this agreement, they will process claims in accordance with the UN Refugee Convention, national and international human rights laws. All those considered for relocation will be decided on a case by case basis.. Nobody will be relocated if it is unsafe or inappropriate for them.

Exploitation: Migrants

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking in response to allegations that contractors in her Department have paid for sex while accompanying migrants being deported overseas.

Tom Pursglove: We expect all suppliers operating on behalf of the Home Office to behave with professionalism and in line with the high standards outlined in the published operating standards, Detention Services Orders and service delivery contracts.The Home Office take all reports of sexual exploitation extremely seriously and accordingly have been engaged with Mitie Care & Custody to ensure a thorough investigation of the allegations with contemporaneous updates.At present, the investigation into these claims has found no evidence of the alleged behaviour. We have instructed Mitie to provide us with a full account of their investigation as soon as it is formally concluded.

Humanitarian Aid: Gaza

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the policy intention of the proscription of Hamas was to leave unrestricted the scope for public bodies to support UK-based civil society organisations to conduct (a) cultural, (b) educational, (c) commercial or (d) humanitarian work in Gaza.

Damian Hinds: Hamas’ proscription was extended to cover the organisation in its entirety in November 2021 because it was assessed that the distinction previously maintained between the military and political wings could no longer be maintained. Hamas is a single, complex organisation which commits and participates in acts of, prepares for, and promotes terrorism.Hamas is designated in its entirety by a number of the UK’s international partners, including the EU, US, Canada and Australia.The Terrorism Act (TACT) 2000 does not prevent organisations operating overseas in high-risk jurisdictions from carrying out legitimate activities. In October 2020, the Government published on GOV.UK an information note on operating within counter-terrorism legislation, sanctions and export controls. The note directs users to the guidance available to support the delivery of legitimate activities and addresses concerns about the risk of prosecution.The note provides information on the defence provided by section 12(4) of TACT 2000, which is intended to permit the arrangement of genuinely benign meetings with a proscribed organisation; and information on section 21ZA of TACT 2000, which allows organisations to seek a defence to carry out a transaction that would otherwise be a terrorist financing offence by seeking prior consent from the National Crime Agency.

Coronavirus: Crime

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason some covid-19-related offences were recordable; and in what circumstances those offences would need to be disclosed.

Kit Malthouse: Recordable offences are offences in England and Wales where the police must keep records of convictions and offenders on the Police National Computer (PNC). Non-recordable offences do not carry the risk of a custodial sentence. All coronavirus breaches were non-recordable summary offences which did not come with prison sentences. They were only punishable by fines. These offences were therefore unlikely to be recorded on the PNC. However, there may have been cases where a non-recordable offence could be recorded on the PNC if there was a conviction of both a recordable and non-recordable offence at the same time.Under the coronavirus regulations, Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) enabled individuals to discharge their liability to prosecution for an offence by payment of a fixed penalty. However, failure to pay the notice could mean someone was later prosecuted, and subject to a summary conviction. Individuals convicted for a covid related offence would generally not have their conviction recorded on the PNC as Covid offences were non- recordable.Non-recordable offences are held locally by the police and may be recorded on the Police National Database (PND) which is a separate system from the PNC, and include details of people who may have been questioned by police but not charged. Where individuals have their Covid offence recorded this conviction may be disclosed on a DBS certificate, subject to the type of certificate and whether the conviction is spent/unspent and/or protected. Once a conviction or caution is considered to be spent, it is usually not necessary for an individual to declare it to prospective employers when applying for a job, and it would not be disclosed on a basic criminal record certificate.

Clearsprings Ready Homes: Contracts

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to ensure value for money in respect of contracted-out services to Clearsprings Ready Homes.

Kevin Foster: The standards we expect from our contractors and providers are monitored closely to ensure they continue to meet them. The standards of accommodation and service are set within the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services (AASC) contract and represent a higher standard of quality than the preceding COMPASS contracts. The AASC contracts have a robust performance management system, against which providers are expected to deliver. Accommodation providers’ performance is monitored closely by dedicated staff in each contract area, who are in daily contact with them. This is supplemented by a formal governance process. Details of the AASC can be found at: New asylum accommodation contracts awarded - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Asylum: Applications

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the average cost of processing an adult male asylum seeker in the UK under existing arrangements; and if she will publish a breakdown of that cost.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office are unable to provide the average cost of processing an adult male asylum seeker in the UK under existing arrangements as this information is not published or held in a reportable format.The Home Office do publish as part of their published Transparency release the total asylum costs at Asy_04: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).These costs include the managing asylum operations claim including the costs associated with deciding a case (screening, interviews and issuing a decision), managing any related appeal, the cost of all asylum support (Section 4, Section 95 and Section 98), detention costs where detention has been used and enforcement costs (escorting and assisted voluntary returns). Also included are the costs of department staff and buildings and the proportionate costs of the Home Office building and managerial costs.

Visas: English Language

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the basis is for granting an exception to applicants from (a) Barbados, (b) Jamaica and (c) Trinidad and Tobago from a requirement to take International English Language Testing System exams for UK Visas and educational programmes; for what reason that exception does apply to applicants from Nigeria; how many Nigerians applied for the International English Language Testing System over the last five years; what the pass rate was in each of those years; and on what basis the charge for that test was calculated.

Kevin Foster: Those who come from a country which is on the Majority English Speaking Countries list (MESC list) are not required to provide evidence of English language ability. To be included on the MESC list, the Home Office must have evidence over half the population in the country being considered speaks English as a first language. If a country meets this criteria it means it is more likely than not any individual applicant from that country can speak English with the level of fluency required to integrate in the UK and complete the course they are coming to study or job they are coming to do. We do not have evidence that Nigeria meets this criteria. We regularly check whether new evidence is publicly available which shows a country meets the criteria to be included in the MESC list. As an alternative to language testing, applicants can also rely on other types of proof of their language ability:having met the requirement at the required level in a previous immigration application; orholding a degree-level qualification which was taught in English; orhaving their chosen university or other Higher Educational Institution self-certify their level of English ability if they are applying as a student; ormeeting the requirements for professional regulation as a doctor, dentist, nurse, midwife or veterinarian if they are sponsored as a skilled worker; orhaving a GCSE, A-level, Scottish National Qualification at level 4 or 5 or, Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher, in English following education at a UK school begun when they were under-18. Information on how many Nigerians applied for the International English Language Testing System over the last five years and what the pass rate was in each of those years is not information held by the Home Office. The fee for the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) test is set by the relevant SELT Provider. To allow for a fair pricing system, the SELT Provider is required to ensure that customers are being charged a comparable fee for the same or similar test. Once set, any increases to the fee can only be made with the agreement of the Home Office.

Visas: Afghanistan and Syria

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the visa application regime for Ukrainian refugees to refugees from (a) Syria and (b) Afghanistan.

Kevin Foster: The Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine Scheme have been developed in response to the very specific circumstances of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and are designed to help Ukrainians fleeing the conflict.The Ukrainian Schemes have been designed in light of very different circumstances to those which led to the Government’s Syrian and Afghan resettlement schemes. The Government has no plans to extend eligibility for its Ukrainian Visa Application Schemes to refugees from Syria or Afghanistan.

Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers detained for arriving in the UK by boat have been transported to Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre as of 1 April 2022.

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has for the continued use of Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre for the processing of clandestine arrivals by boat.

Tom Pursglove: We operate the immigration removal estate in a flexible manner and in line with the Short Term Holding Facility (STHF) Rules 2018 and the Detention Centre Rules 2001, as appropriate. In order to support the management of the arrival of migrants by boat, we have temporarily accommodated people under the provisions of the STHF Rules 2018, in a small number of immigration removal centres (IRCs) including Dungavel House. Dungavel IRC is only considered when capacity is exceeded at other facilities, or contingencies are exhausted and has not been used for processing Channel migrants since November 2021. Following initial processing and screening, asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are able to access statutory support and accommodation from the Home Office in accordance with the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 whilst their application for asylum is being considered. Individuals who are eligible for such support are provided with transportation to asylum accommodation. The Home Office publishes statistics on immigration detention in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. This includes data on people: Entering detention by initial place of detention in table Det_02a of the ‘Detention summary tables’.Leaving detention by last place of detention published in table Det_04c of the ‘Detention summary tables’.In detention by current place of detention in table Det_03a of the ‘Detention summary tables’.Entering, leaving and in detention by asylum related-cases in table Det_01 of the ‘Detention summary tables’. Data on those entering detention, by place of detention, relate to the place of initial detention. An individual who moves from one part of the detention estate to another will not be counted as entering any subsequent place of detention. Last place of detention does not show where an individual spent their time in detention. In some cases, an individual may have spent a period of time detained elsewhere before being moved to their last place of detention. Asylum-related cases refer to those where there has been an asylum claim at some stage prior or during detention. This will include asylum seekers whose asylum claims have been refused, and who have exhausted any rights of appeal, those returned under third country provisions, as well as those granted asylum/protection, but detained for other reasons (such as criminality).

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Wolverhampton

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many civil servants are based in his Department’s Wolverhampton office as of 1 April 2022.

Eddie Hughes: As of 1 April 2022 this Department employed 208 civil servants at its Wolverhampton office. We have also additionally recruited a further 65 people to our Wolverhampton office who have not commenced in post but are in the process of being onboarded into the Department.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Apprentices

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Public sector apprenticeships target, how many apprentices were employed in his Department in the financial year 2021-22; and what proportion of the total workforce in 2021-2022 were apprentices.

Eddie Hughes: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is currently collating and quality assuring data on apprenticeships for 2021/22. Final figures are not yet available. The Cabinet Office, on behalf of the Civil Service, will be publishing a full breakdown of departmental performance on apprenticeships in the Autumn in line with previous years.Data for all departments between 2017 and 2021 is available on gov.uk.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the licenses expire for (a) Deposit Protection Service, (b) MyDeposits and (c) Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

Eddie Hughes: The concession agreements in place with the Deposit Protection Service, mydeposits and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme for the provision of Tenancy Deposit Protection schemes expire on 31 March 2026. Separate contracts are in place with each of the three providers for provision of Insurance-based and Custodial protection schemes, with the expiry of all six individual contracts currently aligned on 31 March 2026.

Business: Ethnic Groups

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he plans to take through proposals in the Levelling Up White Paper to assist ethnic minority business owners.

Neil O'Brien: The Government's levelling up missions will spread economic opportunity and support businesses to fulfil their potential through investment in R&D, skills, connectivity, and business finance across the country.   The Levelling Up White Paper drew on the findings of the independent Commission for Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED), which emphasised that geography is a key factor affecting equality of opportunity and social mobility, and geographical and ethnicity-related factors are closely interrelated. In action 56 of the Government’s response to CRED, the Inclusive Britain report, the Government committed to support HSBC to develop and launch a pilot for a competition-based, entrepreneur support programme in spring 2022 By reducing spatial disparities across the UK, particularly in the places where they are most stark, the plans set out in the Levelling Up White Paper will improve the lives of groups with the worst outcomes, complementing and supporting our wider work to tackle race and ethnic disparities.

Walls and Fences: Surveying

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) average cost of appointing a surveyor for the purposes of drawing up a party wall award and (b) extent to which this cost prohibits homeowners in settling disputes.

Stuart Andrew: Any surveyor appointed under section 10 of the Party Wall Act 1996 is undertaking a statutory role. In all cases, surveyors appointed or selected under the dispute resolution procedure of the Act must consider the interests and rights of both owners and draw up an award impartially.The Department has not carried out an assessment of the average cost of appointing a surveyor for the purposes of drawing up a party wall award. The Act provides for surveyors to be paid the reasonable costs of drawing up an award. However, if the owner or the adjoining owner feels that a surveyor’s costs are unreasonable they may ask for a breakdown of costs, e.g. the hourly rate and number of hours of time being charged for.

Help to Buy Scheme

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the rate of inflation on homeowners on the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme.

Stuart Andrew: The changes in the rate of inflation and the impact this will have on homeowners is of great importance. Help to Buy customers pay no interest for the first five years of their loan. Interest fees that begin in year 6 start at 1.75% and increase each year by CPI + 2%. Affordability assessments are carried out by both the main mortgage provider and our Help to Buy Agents at the outset of the loans. These checks assess and stress-test the borrower’s long-term ability to meet their mortgage repayments and future fee payments. We are, however, monitoring the situation closely and will continue working with Homes England ensure we have the correct policies in place to support homeowners.

Help to Buy Scheme

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reason a Help to Buy ISA cannot redeem its discount benefit against existing property, only new build properties; and if he would consider amending that condition in response to the starter home building rate in York.

Stuart Andrew: The Help to Buy ISA can be used to purchase both new build and second hand properties. The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, however, is only available on new build homes and has property price caps which set the maximum purchase price in each region. The reason the equity loan is only available on new build homes is that a key objective of the scheme is to increase housing supply. Making the scheme available on older homes would not have the same supply impact. Further, the Government has reviewed the Help to Buy price caps and continue to be satisfied they allow good availability of first-time buyer type properties in each region. Therefore, there are no plans to amend the scheme rules. For customers who are not able to utilise the Help to Buy scheme, the Government has a range of other housing products to support people into homeownership such as First Homes and the mortgage guarantee scheme.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to make the Homes for Ukraine scheme easy to navigate for households wishing to take part.

Eddie Hughes: DLUHC have published guidance at: www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-sponsor-guidance , www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-scheme-frequently-asked-questions and www.gov.uk/government/publications/welcome-a-guide-for-ukrainians-arriving-in-the-uk .

Homes for Ukraine Scheme: Families

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to enable Ukrainians who arrive under the Ukraine Family Scheme but who cannot be housed by their family member to be housed under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

Eddie Hughes: The Family and Homes for Ukraine Schemes are separate. If family members arrive under the Family Scheme and cannot be accommodated, they can access the housing element of Universal Credit.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will provide additional funding for local authorities that are receiving significant numbers of Ukrainians under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

Eddie Hughes: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 137326 on 6 April 2022.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will ask volunteers for the Homes for Ukraine Scheme whether they would sponsor Afghan nationals or families who have resettled in the UK and are housed in hotels.

Eddie Hughes: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 148278 on 5 April 2022.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Homes for Ukraine scheme, how many visas have been granted as of 14 April 2022; and if he will publish his planned timeframe for the issuing of future visas.

Eddie Hughes: Updates are published at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-for-ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-numbers-of-visa-applications .

Homes for Ukraine Scheme: Vetting

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to expedite enhanced DBS checks for (a) Ukrainian refugees and (b) UK applicants to the Homes for Ukraine scheme to help reduce the processing time for children coming to the UK through that scheme.

Eddie Hughes: I refer the Hon Member to the answers given to Question UIN 145857 on 28 March 2022 and Question UIN 144955 on 29 March 2022, which include links to published guidance and information at Gov.uk.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether any applications to the Homes for Ukraine scheme made on 18 and 19 March 2022 have been lost.

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of applications to the Homes for Ukraine scheme have been lost as of 19 April 2022.

Eddie Hughes: All visa applications for the Homes for Ukraine Scheme are managed by the Home Office.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how UK citizens may become approved sponsors for Ukrainian refugees in the event that they do not have a UK passport or UK-issued photo driving licence.

Eddie Hughes: Details are set out online at: www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-sponsor-guidance#eligibility.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme: Debts

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2022 to Question 148120 on Homes for Ukraine Scheme: Debts, whether the £350 per month payment for sponsors in the Homes for Ukraine scheme will be included in income and expenditure calculations for debt solutions; and if he will include that information on his Department's webpages to which direction was given in response to Question 148120.

Eddie Hughes: Officials are considering this issue and I will write to the Hon Member with further details in due course.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Information Officers

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Attorney General, how many communications staff in her Department are employed (a) full time, (b) part time and (c) under flexible working arrangements.

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Attorney General, how much her Department spends on communications staff on average each year.

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Attorney General, how much his Department spends on on communications staff on average each year.

Alex Chalk: On average the department spends £348,089.16 on communications staff. We have 7 staff dedicated to communications all of which are full time employees.

Cabinet Office

Members and Peers: Domicil

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) hon. Members and (b) peers in the House of Lords hold non-domiciled status in the UK.

Michael Ellis: An individual's tax status is private and confidential; the Government does not hold a consolidated list of Parliamentarians' tax status. Members of the House of Commons and House of Lords are treated for the purposes of income tax, capital gains tax, and inheritance tax as resident and domiciled in the United Kingdom, according to Section 41 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.

Coronavirus: Surveys

Mr David Davis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2021 to Question 45797, on Coronavirus: Surveys, if he will publish information on polling commissioned by the Government at the start of the covid-19 outbreak.

Nigel Adams: COVID-19 polling was conducted to help develop and drive the optimisation of campaign messaging. This enabled the maximum effectiveness of messaging and ensured vital public health information reached as many people as possible. Due to the unprecedented scope of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, polling was conducted regularly for approximately two years. This represents a significant volume of information that requires review. The Cabinet Office is committed to conducting a review of the polling information that it holds. A timetable for sharing the appropriate information will be released by Spring 2022.

Civil Service: Surveys

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the the annual Civil Service People Survey will be published.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Every year, the Civil Service People Survey team publishes the Civil Service benchmark scores and the results for all participating organisations in the annual Civil Service People Survey on GOV.UK. The publication of the results for the Civil Service People Survey 2021 is scheduled for Thursday 28 April 2022.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: Gulf States

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has carried out opinion surveys in 2022 on the attitudes of people in the UK about a free trade deal with the (a) Gulf Co-operation Council and (b) countries within the Gulf Co-operation Council.

Penny Mordaunt: The regular Public Attitudes to Trade Tracker asks the public about awareness of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and support for entering formal trade talks with the bloc, in some waves of the survey. Polling for this survey has been carried out in 2022. Findings are published regularly at the collections page: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-attitudes-to-trade-tracker . The Department also carries out research for internal use relevant to ongoing negotiations. Details of these are not released due to negotiation sensitivities.

Trade Agreements: Gulf States

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has commissioned public opinion polling on attitudes and views on a potential free trade agreement with the Gulf Co-operation council.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department has commissioned research on public attitudes towards trade with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The regular Public Attitudes to Trade Tracker asks the public about awareness of the GCC, and support for entering formal trade talks with the bloc, in some waves of the survey. Findings are published regularly at the collections page: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-attitudes-to-trade-tracker . The Department also carries out research for internal use relevant to ongoing negotiations. Details of these are not released due to negotiation sensitivities.

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

Sir Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress her Department has made on securing UK membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Penny Mordaunt: The UK recently reached a major milestone in the accession process to CPTPP, by moving to market access negotiations with this trading bloc. These negotiations will see new, beneficial trading relationships agreed with CPTPP members. Tariffs will be reduced on UK goods exports, and services markets will open up further to British business, through advanced provisions that facilitate digital trade and modern rules on data. We aim to conclude negotiations by the end of 2022.

Digital Technology: Exports

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department has taken to increase exports of digital services.

Mike Freer: The UK has been at the forefront of seizing the benefits of digital trade, including through our FTA programme. For example, the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement, signed in February, represents the most innovative digital trade agreement ever signed. Already, DIT has engaged nearly 100 companies through a webinar and trade mission on the benefits of the deal for business. The Department also has a Digital Exporting Programme which helps SME to increase exports through digital channels, for example those in the music industry. So far, the Programme has supported in excess of 10,000 companies.

Overseas Trade: Central Asia

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to increase trade with central Asian countries.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: Fast growing economies such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan provide an abundance of opportunities for British business across a wide range of sectors. My Department is supporting British business to grab these opportunities through trade dialogues and regular business to business exchanges, including the annual United Kingdom-Kazakhstan Inter-Governmental Commission that I co-chaired late last year in Astana. We are working hard to remove trade barriers with Uzbekistan too.For example, an update to their Intellectual Property regime, removing barriers for British businesses could be worth over £11million per year.

Trade Promotion: Ethnic Groups

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many UK Trade Envoys appointed by HM Government are from a Black or minority ethnic background as of 19 April 2022.

Mike Freer: The department does not collect data on the ethnicity of the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys. In line with wider practice, we consider it important to provide diversity statistics based on reporting from the individuals concerned.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Lotteries

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason the Gambling Commission has not yet published annual statistics for society lotteries.

Chris Philp: The Gambling Commission’s production and publication of the most recent Industry Statistics for the period April 2020 to March 2021, including the latest full year statistics for society lotteries, has been affected by the impact of Covid-19, the lack of and quality of data submissions from some lottery operators and resources required for the consequential quality assurance.The Gambling Commission will next publish these statistics, covering the period April 2020- March 2021, in November 2022, which is in line with regular twice-yearly publication cycles.

Semiconductor Devices: Supply Chains

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if the Government will publish a strategy setting out how the UK can help ensure resilience in (a) domestic and (b) international supply chains of semiconductors and other critical technologies.

Chris Philp: The Government recognises the importance of semiconductor technology to the global economy. Semiconductors are a fundamental enabling technology for electronic devices and there is significant attention being paid to the sector internationally, not least because a confluence of unexpected events have caused a global chips shortage with global ramifications. The supply chains for semiconductor products are incredibly complex, spanning a large number of countries and the government understands the potential for future disruptions to the supply chain.The Government is reviewing its approach to the semiconductors sector working closely with industry experts and representative bodies. We are considering how best to mitigate the risk of future disruption to technology supply chains, and ensure that the UK can continue to get access to the chips it needs. We are working closely with our international partners, recognising that, as a set of global markets, these issues cannot be solved by the UK alone.

Semiconductor Devices: Supply Chains

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to review the resilience of (a) semiconductor and (b) other critical technology supply chains.

Chris Philp: The Government recognises the importance of semiconductor technology to the global economy. Semiconductors are a fundamental enabling technology for electronic devices and there is significant attention being paid to the sector internationally, not least because a confluence of unexpected events have caused a global chips shortage with global ramifications. The supply chains for semiconductor products are incredibly complex, spanning a large number of countries and the government understands the potential for future disruptions to the supply chain.The Government is reviewing its approach to the semiconductors sector working closely with industry experts and representative bodies. We are considering how best to mitigate the risk of future disruption to technology supply chains, and ensure that the UK can continue to get access to the chips it needs. We are working closely with our international partners, recognising that, as a set of global markets, these issues cannot be solved by the UK alone.

Women and Equalities

Conversion Therapy

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what further discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on banning conversion therapy in all circumstances following the withdrawal of over 100 LGBTQ+ organisations from the Government's Safe To Be Me conference.

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when her Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban conversion therapy in the UK.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2021 to Question 53888 on Conversion Therapy, whether Government policy has changed since that response.

Mike Freer: The Government is committed to bringing forward legislation, when Parliamentary time allows, to ban conversion therapy. We are currently analysing responses to our recent public consultation.The Government’s actions to protect people from conversion therapy extend beyond legislating. We are procuring a support service for victims and those at risk via a helpline and website which will provide initial pastoral support, and signposting to services such as counselling and advice about emergency housing.The Government has reluctantly taken the decision to cancel this summer’s Safe To Be Me conference. We have been proud to work alongside civil society partners, businesses and others to develop ambitious plans for the conference and appreciate the time and effort that all stakeholders have put into this.We are disappointed that the conference will no longer be going ahead and remain committed to strengthening LGBT rights and freedoms. We will continue to support human rights defenders globally and to influence and support countries on the path to decriminalisation.